... what sort of movie this would have been with different actors? First and foremost this is the kind of script you don't really see much of anymore, especially in teenage rom-coms. It is as much a stage play as a movie script. Percentage-wise, the number of scenes with the same two characters BY THEMSELVES running lines off each other (Pettyfer and Hudgens) is very high. And therein lies the good news and the bad news. The good news is that Director/Writer Daniel Barnes took risks, the kind of risks you can only take when you are, in point of fact, both the director and writer on the production. He placed all his trust in his actors, and gave them lots of room. The bad news is that it doesn't always work. I am not sure where the fault lies -- since with issues of "chemistry" you need something to compare to -- but if I had to guess, I would point the finger at Hudgens. This film was done at the end the very unusual arc in her career when, as far as teen movies went, she was the "it" girl, she was the girl every high school guy would sell his parents to gypsies for. Whether or not she can deliver this promise is another matter. She is cute, she is sweet, she is vulnerable. But that's fine for love at a distance. Love in tight closeups with tricky dialog is another matter entirely. (If you want to see a quirky Disney rom-com done to sizzling perfection, look at THE CUTTING EDGE, also in my reviews, where the characters completely sell the romance from the first scene, to the delight of the audience). A very ambitious effort which never really hits the target.

I have not read the book Beastly is based upon, but I have heard from a lot of people who disliked the film that it is much better, maybe at some point in the near future I'll check it out. Beastly on its own terms did have potential to be good, Neil Patrick Harris and the fact it is based on a story I have adored since forever being two prime reasons.

But Beastly doesn't deliver. A major problem was that I just couldn't get into the story. It seemed too rushed particularly at the end, and filled with filler that was either corny or didn't need to be there. I also couldn't empathise with any of the characters, the title character especially is a very unlikeable brat and his moaning and whining gets both annoying and unintentionally hilarious after a while.

The dialogue is roundly poor, the romantic parts are sappy and forced and some of it was funny in an unintentional way. To be honest it was like hearing Twilight all over again except in a modern fairy tale twist. The direction for me was mediocre at best, while the ending if I were to be honest left me unmoved and the music was disappointingly forgettable.

I did not think much of the two leads at all. Vanessa Hudgens was pretty but her acting was flat. Even worse was Alex Pettyfer, who is awful. I personally didn't find his make up all that grotesque, his transformation was okay at first but its impact diminished quickly, his character is very unlikeable and his whiny delivery really grates. It also doesn't help that these two have no chemistry together whatsoever, another major reason why both the romantic elements and the film fell flat.

Despite all this, there are two or three saving graces, first and foremost that the cinematography and scenery was quite good. And there are two good performances for the two bad lead ones and the indifferent ones from everyone else. One is Neil Patrick Harris, whose comic timing is impeccable. The other is a surprisingly credible Mary Kate Olsen in a completely different role than usual.

In conclusion, it may have good cinematography and two good performances, but the two leads, story presentation, script, lack of sympathy for the characters and pace spoil it significantly. 3/10 Bethany Cox

A truly ugly, mean-spirited teenage romance that seems to have copied the general style of TWILIGHT and is clearly aimed at the same audience, i.e. teenage girls. It's horrible stuff indeed, sort of a modern-day riff on THE UGLY DUCKLING but with some truly repulsive morals behind it.

Alex Pettyfer - forever stuck making embarrassingly poor teen films due to his supposed good looks - plays a vain narcissist - hardly a stretch then - who is cursed by a witch into becoming a repulsive beast. Yes, it's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST for modern viewers, caught with an unpleasant twist: if he can get a girl to fall in love with his ugly self within a year, he'll be 'cured'. So the film hardly celebrates ugliness, it's just a torture the hero has to rid himself of while playing up the typical Hollywood idealised image.

Needless to say, the acting is very poor, and Vanessa Hudgens is particularly charisma-free as the love interest. Neil Patrick Harris is the best thing in it as the blind tutor, but that's little compensation for what is an appalling viewing experience.