DANIEL BARNZ’S reworking of Beauty And The Beast undermines its message about substance over style by sacrificing characterisation for glossy visuals.
Kyle Kingsbury (Alex Pettyfer) is the golden boy of high school: handsome and athletic, he exploits his looks to get what he wants.
Foolishly, he ignores whispers about classmate Kendra being a witch and humiliates her in public.
She retaliates by robbing Kyle of his chiselled cheekbones, cursing him to look unattractive unless he can find true love in 12 months.
Consigned to an apartment with blind tutor Will and Jamaican housemaid Zola, Kyle gives up on life until fate throws pretty classmate Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens) into his path and her sweetness opens Kyle’s eyes to the mistakes of the past.
Beastly resets the familiar fairy story to present- day New York, but it lacks emotional punch in the closing frames when Kyle gets the girl and his perfectly tousled blonde locks back.
