Beautiful Beast (2013) Shona Kay, Brad Johnson, Don Cosney, Garrick Dean - Bryan Carzan Movie Review

Beautiful Beast (2013)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Shona Kay in Beautiful Beast (2013)

Getting Lost to Find Oneself

Isabelle Elliott (Shona Kay) is a glamorous socialite who spends money on clothes, make-up, going out and holidaying who can't handle being by herself which is how she persuades Catherine (Melanie Gardner) to take a few days off work to go skiing with her up in the mountains. It is whilst there that Isabelle not only hurts herself but becomes lost in amongst the snow and the trees. And it is how she meets Jeremy (Brad Johnson) a loner who lives in a cabin in the woods who couldn't care less whether Isabelle is rich, beautiful and popular and sees her as far too full of herself. It is whilst spending time with Jeremy, who she falls in love with, that she comes to realise what a nasty piece of work she has been to those near to her. The question is when it comes time to head home will she return to her old, egotistical ways?

You know the story of "Beauty and the Beast" the monster hidden away who is in love with the pretty girl who stays with him, well "Beautiful Beast" is nothing like that and unfortunately someone decided to market this movie as a play on the classic story but with the twist being that the pretty girl is actually the monster. Maybe on paper that is how it came across to the production and marketing team but for me "Beautiful Beast" was more akin to a typical Hallmark romantic comedy than a twist on the classic fairytale.

Brad Johnson in Beautiful Beast (2013)

So for me what we have instead is the typical antagonistic relationship between a spoilt rich girl and the down to earth guy who lives in the middle of nowhere. As Isabelle spends time with Jeremy she discovers not only that he is appealing but also falls for the simple charms of how he lives. It is 90% typical with Isabelle going through a transformation which may not last when she gets the opportunity to return home. The other 10% is more to do with the mystery surrounding why Jeremy has isolated himself away from everyone else.

That leaves me in a bit of a quandary as I am a bit of a fan of those Hallmark romantic comedies which this is very similar to but whilst it has the good looking cast it lacks the bubbliness which comes with better production values. That lack of bubbliness is most likely down to it being a faith based movie which touches on the subject of God, forgiveness, redemption and prayer but more focuses on just doing the right thing such as saying thank you and making others feel appreciated.

What this all boils down to is that "Beautiful Beast" is a take on a familiar romantic comedy storyline and it is entertaining enough. But there is something missing which stops it being the vibrant movie it should be and as such ends up just a little bit awkward in places.


LATEST REVIEWS