Beastly (6/28/2011)

Rated PG-13 for language including crude comments, brief violence and some thematic material.

Starring Vanessa Hudgens, Alex Pettyfer, Mary-Kate Olsen and Neil Patrick Harris

Directed by Daniel Barnz (first feature film)

Nothing beautiful about this Beast.

Seventeen year old Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) is the spoiled, shallow and incredibly popular prince of his high school kingdom. Entirely captivated and empowered by his own physical appearance, Kyle foolishly chooses Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), a goth classmate rumored to be a witch, as his latest target for humiliation. Unfazed by his cruel behavior, Kendra decides to teach him a lesson – she transforms him into someone as unattractive on the outside as he is on the inside. Now he has one year to find someone who can see past the surface and love him, or he will remain “Beastly” forever. His only hope, an unassuming classmate he never noticed named Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), may be his best chance to prove that love is never ugly.

I always try to be gracious when I know I’m not the target audience for a film. No doubt about it…I’m not the target audience for Beastly. So I’ll try to be nice.

First of all, these “high school students” are too old to play college students…Alex Pettyfer is 21, Vanessa Hudgens is 23 and Mary-Kate Olsen is 25. Truthfully, that’s the least of this film’s problems.

The story is of course a take on the classic Beauty and the Beast tale. But in the original you sense that the Beast truly has a change of heart. In this one, I felt like he was still the spoiled rich kid who was really, really good at manipulating the people around him. Instead of falling in love with a stranger, he falls for the “ugly” girl from school that he knows digs him – oh and he’s already rejected her. Yeah Vanessa Hudgens is the “ugly girl.” And it’s not like Kyle (now appropriately named Hunter – because he is hunting a weak mind girl to fall in love with him) is not that much of a beast. He’s given a few tattoos, some scars and a shaved head…and that makes him ugly. Come on, make him real scrawny with buck teeth, or overweight with bad acne or too short with thick glasses. I guess that would be a little too unrealistic.

They tried to make it cool. There are long looks at each other, but it got creepy since most of those looks are when Hunter is following Lindy or hanging out outside her window. They put a lot of music in the film, but at times it just felt like a cheesy music video. They tried to convince us that Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer are ugly…seriously I’m not even finishing that sentence.

The filmmakers would have us believe that Beastly is a teen romance about learning how to see past false surfaces to discover true inner beauty. But that message is never really communicated clearly. In fact I kept thinking to myself, I know what you are trying to tell me, but your actions are speaking so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying. It’s a Coaster from me.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
The only reason I would let my daughter see this film is to prove to her that most guys are selfish, manipulative jerks. I said most.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: Well the point that they tried to make was that it really is what is on the “inside” that matters. And there is a great Old Testament story that shows us just how true this is.

Take a moment to read 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”

So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”

“Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.

And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: As you read the story how do you think David felt being excluded from the “line-up”?

How do you think he felt when he was selected to be king? How do you think his brothers/father felt?

Have you ever judged a book by its cover? Discuss what happened and be prepared to share about a time when you did this and were completely wrong about the person.

Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: What are some students in your school that you have judged by their appearance? What do you think would happen if you took the time to get to know them?

Have you ever hung out or not hung out with someone because they were higher/lower on the popularity scale?

How do you think Jesus would respond in that situation?

What’s one thing you can do this week to look passed surface issues and discover who a person really is?