Beastly
CBS Films | Release Date: March 4, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
9
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 3, 2011
I liked this movie, maybe more than I should have, and would be happy to see anything this director wants to do next. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldHoward CohenMar 2, 2011
Beastly, for all its potential pitfalls, works better than it has any right to. Credit Barnz, who keeps his young characters contemporary in a world of text messaging and status updates and yet also gives them depth. Read full review
75
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreMar 2, 2011
Witty, warm, well-cast and often wickedly funny. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 3, 2011
This is the kind of cornball entertainment that rainy afternoons were made for. Throw in a cozy sofa too. Beastly will size down well on your television. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenMar 3, 2011
The idea of transformation, that people can change and learn from their mistakes, growing to be better, makes Beastly not just sweetly romantic but also quietly hopeful. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyMar 3, 2011
There are moments of salty wit to its teen TV sensibility, and the story offers proof, once again, than there are few stories that can't be adapted to the theme of teenaged popularity politics. Read full review
55
MovielineMichelle OrangeMar 3, 2011
Beastly manages to show you all the ways it might have worked by missing every available mark, sometimes by the gaping expanse between Alex Pettyfer's ears, sometimes only by the feline curl of Vanessa Hudgens' smile. Read full review
50
Boxoffice MagazineAmy NicholsonMar 5, 2011
Funnier, sharper and sweeter than expected. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovMar 5, 2011
Hudgens' dimples threaten at times to overtake the narrative, but in the end, they're no match for Olsen's creepy-ass smirk, which, frankly, appears ready-made for Tim Burton's next outing. Read full review
50
Washington PostSandie Angulo ChenMar 3, 2011
Getting teens to look past the superficial may be a noble goal, but when they're staring at the pretty but talentless Pettyfer, it's a hard lesson to take seriously. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 3, 2011
Beastly was made with tween girls in mind. It's the kind of love story a viewer can believe in when she is indiscriminating enough to ignore bad acting, bad writing, and mediocre filmmaking. Read full review
40
Village VoiceNick SchagerMar 5, 2011
Tin-eared, corny attempt at fairy-tale interpretation. Read full review
40
NPRLinda HolmesMar 4, 2011
All good humor must come to an end, and a love story has to be able to fall back on tenderness and sweetness eventually. Unfortunately, every time Beastly reaches for either of those things, it's ... really bad. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMar 4, 2011
There's less to Beastly than meets the eye - and what meets the eye is no great shakes, either. Read full review
40
VarietyPeter DebrugeMar 2, 2011
A kiss may cure the monster, but not even campy performances from Mary-Kate Olsen and Neil Patrick Harris can save this ugly snarl of cliches. Read full review
38
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 4, 2011
The school freak, played by Mary-Kate Olsen, misses a chance to really have some fun as this story's wicked witch. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia PuigMar 3, 2011
It's dogged by awkward dialogue, a ridiculous plot and lackluster performances, especially by the leads. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaMar 3, 2011
Beastly offers a thoroughly dopey reread of the "Beauty and the Beast" fairy tale. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttMar 3, 2011
Rarely do films from Hollywood emerge in such an inane manner. Its rote characters are inevitably in predictable situations with no subtext or subtlety to any of their predicaments. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallMar 3, 2011
Loosely adapted from Alex Flinn's young-adult novel, this "Beauty and the Beast" update is a pallid, formulaic teen romance that might have benefited from a little snark. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisMar 3, 2011
The characterization couldn't be more flagrant if the soundtrack creaked out an oldie by a certain ancient pop quintet: You're a candy girl. Read full review
20
Time OutKeith UhlichMar 8, 2011
Dull and perfunctory, the film's saving grace is MVP Neil Patrick Harris as Kyle's blind tutor, who has a witty aside for every woodenly expressed sentiment. You go, Doog! Read full review
20
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaMar 2, 2011
There is one good thing you can say about Beastly: The title perfectly sums up what you'll see on screen. Read full review
16
Entertainment WeeklyAdam MarkovitzMar 5, 2011
Spectacularly poor judgment in everything from acting to costuming (Olsen's Harajuku-troll get-up is scarier than her curse) puts Beastly right on the cusp of the so-bad-it's-good Hall of Shame. Read full review
16
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonMar 3, 2011
In every aspect, from story to tone to characterization to visual aesthetic, it's laughably perfunctory, as though everyone involved were too embarrassed to give it more than a half-ironic token effort. Read full review
12
New York PostLou LumenickMar 4, 2011
More than lives up to its name with ultra-campy performances, high-glucose direction, laughable dialogue, cheesy effects and a back-lot simulation of a Manhattan street that wouldn't pass muster on an after-school special. Read full review
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