Kyle (Alex Pettyfer, I Am Number Four) is the most popular kid in a high-class private school where everyone is both rich and beautiful. Well, there are a few exceptions to that rule, but we will get to them shortly. The film opens up with him running for the president of a school committee, and the only platform he stands on is his popularity, beauty and the fact that he has a famous dad.
When he wins, one of those kids that don't fit into the school's mold decides to put him through a little test. Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) is a dark character that looks like the typical goth-chick you might find at every high school. When Kyle decides to mock her openly though, she reveals that she is more than a girl who likes to have dark hair and crazy tattoos and piercings, she has a bit of magic in her.
Kendra curses Kyle making his inner-ugliness come out and giving him a one-year deadline to have someone fall in love with him and see past the scarred surface he now shows the world. When his dad sees what he has become, he sends Kyle off to a house removed from the city, where he now lives with their live-in maid, Zola (Lisa Gay Hamilton, TV's The Practice) and his new tutor, the blind Will (Neil Patrick Harris).
Kyle eventually sees his potential salvation in Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens, High School Musical). Unlike most of the people at his former school, she is going to the academy on scholarship, and when he starts trying to get to know her, he ends up stopping an assault on her life because of her father's problems. Kyle convinces Lindy's dad to send her to Kyle's new home so she can be safe, and now Kyle starts to learn what it means to actually get to know someone and truly fall in love with them. The question is, will she do the same in time?
While Beastly is by no means the best film out there, there are some aspects that really stand out. For one, Neil Patrick Harris does an outstanding job in this film. Not only does he pull off the blind-act, but his comedic timing is perfect for breaking any kind of tension at just the right point. While Pettyfer and Hudgens are the film's stars, Harris steals the scene pretty much every time he is on camera.
Another great detail in the movie is Kyle's "beastly" form. His cut, scarred and oddly-tattooed body looks great. In fact, there is a special feature on this Blu-ray about the makeup and Pettyfer's lengthy time in the makeup chair every morning. There is also an alternate ending to the film, but I preferred the one actually used, even if it was the more predictable of the two. The same can be said about the handful of deleted scenes; while interesting, they were ultimately not necessary for the overall story. The last featurette is about the work that went into bringing Alex Flinn's book to the big screen.
Beastly is an okay popcorn flick. The movie is worth watching if you have the slightest interest in it, but if the idea of a modern Beauty and the Beast doesn't appeal to you at all, then pass it up completely. The Blu-ray version isn't necessary since there aren't a lot of visuals in the film that really beg for the high definition experience, but there are a few effects, like Kyle's changing tattoos as he runs out of time, that will benefit from the added detail. In the end though, Beastly is a rental at best.
