"Beastly" makes friends with audience

   From start to the touching and uplifting end the new film ‘Beastly" is an all around innovative and well acted a story worth investing time to see this weekend.

   Although the film is marketed as a modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast", it turns out to be significantly better than solely a direct adaptation. In fact, the story's plot and overwhelmingly strong message elvates it to be a strong film outside the shadow of the popular fairytale.

   Kyle is an ego- centric teen who has a real mean streak; who ends up messing with the wrong classmate. As a result of his continual moral ugliness towards her, the witch Kendra curses him to live forever as a beast if he does not find love.

   The film's most evident strength is in the writer/ director Daniel Barnez's artistic vision for a story that could have easily gone terribly, tragically wrong.  Instead of focusing on the supernatural of it all, which isn't bad either, the film aims to examine the true loneliness of the two characters and how that eventually brings them to each other.

  Vanessa Hudgens surprises with a performance that's mature and doesn't seem manufactured. There are instances where Hudgen's "High School Musical" persona makes a brief appearance, but it quickly passes and the film rolls on. The leading man Alex Pettyfer does decently, but falters sometimes with connecting the emotion of the situation into his lines. However, the struggle is not too noticeable to detach audiences from the experience.  Undeniably, Patrick Neil Harris is a movie star asset, offering audible laugh out loud moments to the otherwise sometimes depressing situations.

  Story and acting aside the film was just a pleasure to look at. No generic camera angles or useless montage is found in the fairytale retelling.

   One of the most intriguing portions of the entire film emerged from a quieter scene between to the two leads. Personal stories and heartbreaking elephant metaphors for abandonment from those they love the most are exemplary of the substance of this film. The scene in particular is only the biggest roadblock keeping audiences from blowing off "Beastly" as just another sappy, genre teen movie.  The film's most romantic scenes, equalivent of a fairytale, are acted with a talent that keeps you from giggling in its absurdity.

   It can be speculated that because this is one of CBS Film's first releases, and coming from a television background helps the production. Television is a media that relies on good characters to be successful.

   The most genuine and sincere part of why "Beastly" is a stand out for teen movies is its goal to improve the perceptions of beauty. The idea is so relevant and necessary, especially, in a modern society where physical beauty is in the forefront of people's interest. The movie's slogan is great combination of what the movie means to say to audiences. "Love is never ugly." More importantly, loving someone for their true nature, faults and dedication to you is where the real beauty lies.

   The overall solidness and fun of this film makes it a very worthy hour and a half spent.