3/10
You remember the story of Beauty & The Beast in which a handsome prince was turned into a monster, and could only have the curse lifted by the love of a good woman? This is that story - as a high school movie.
And with a stupid title to boot. Isn't 'beastly' what pubic school boys used to say to each other to express disapproval, about 100 years ago? Anyway, Alex Pettyfer is the hunk with an attitude problem, who gets the beast treatment put on him by a witch (who's also at school) after he plays a nasty joke on her. His father takes him to a large mansion and leaves him alone with a wise black maid and a blind tutor (I'm not making this up).
Then he persuades the drug addict father of a student he likes - Lindy, played by Vanessa Hudgens - to tell his daughter to come and live with him so that he can protect her. Incidentally, all these plot set ups are extremely flimsy, as if they couldn't be bothered to create anything plausible. So there we are with the bald ugly guy (actually, he just looks as if he's had a bad makeup job), and the luscious young wench, and it's only a matter of time before they fall in love - or more to the point, that she sees that outer beauty isn't everything, while he in turns learns not to be a complete prat. And this has to be dragged out for 90 minutes.
There are many depressing things about Hollywood, but my current complaint is what they do with fairy stories. Rapunzel has become Tangled, and with this and Red Riding Hood, all the darkest and richest stories have had all the life and juice sucked out of them, and turned into trite teenage fantasy romances. It's not that I mind that the stories aren't original - so few are - simply that the treatment is so lazy, and lacking in anything original or interesting. It's just a boy meets girl story, with nothing to say about life or love. Just a lot of posing, with a soundtrack of unmemorable pop songs. Not so much beastly as pathetic.
