MovieChat Forums > Beastly (2011) Discussion > Two things that bother me about the 'Bea...

Two things that bother me about the 'Beauty and the Beast' story

posted 13 years ago by TinyCricket
31 replies | jump to latest

1. As others have mentioned, it's typical to see an attractive female lead fall in love with the unattractive male lead, yet the roles are hardly ever switched. Probably because the film industry is male dominated and they don't believe audiences would believe an attractive male falling for an unattractive female.

2. I don't necessarily like how the "beast" has a deadline to have someone fall in love with them by that time. It makes it seem like he doesn't genuinely care about the girl and is simply using her so he can become beautiful again. And given the short amount of time that he did have, it's unlikely he would have actually fallen in love with her (or her to him) in such a short duration anyway. And muttering the words "I love you" doesn't MEAN they actually do.

I'm just being cynical but that's my two cents.

"A family. Nothing else matters...it's mom, hide!"

[–] subase 13 years ago

I thought Twilight was an inversion of beauty and the beast?

The thing about the old tale is that the Beast is an interesting character enough to offset his looks. (Also the whole 'hairy beast' look complements masculinity)

For the opposite to happen you would need a female interesting enough to offset her ugliness. That's a very tough call in sexist hollywood.

Does anyone actually know of any examples of films which portray an ugly but interesting girl as the main character or at least main romantic interest? I can't think of one.

[–] TinyCricket 13 years ago

The "ugly" girl typically starts out with nerdy glasses but once she takes them off and lets her hair down, she's suddenly a goddess.

Or she isn't the main love interest.

"A family. Nothing else matters...it's mom, hide!"

[–] verucasalt23-1 13 years ago

Hairspray (Yes, she actually was chubby, not just movie ugly, and she got Zac Efron away from his skinny girlfriend) and Penelope. In the book of Beastly, the girl wasn't supposed to be pretty.

[–] subase 13 years ago

The girl in Hairpray is not ugly. Fat probably obese but not ugly. She's got a cute face, dresses well and can dance really well (the film alludes to her being sexual dynamite with this too in one scene).

Charlize Theron in 'Monster' would qualify as a 'ugly'. (barely) But in that film she's a sympathetic villain and her romantic relationship is not the major plot of the film. (Interestingly though her girlfriend is not that remarkable either)

I can understand that hollywood can't have an 'ugly' girl as the lead, but I think a good actress that's uglified can work, if the actress/character is engaging enough and the story strong enough.

Actually the idea of a girl becoming 'ugly' and a 'beast' sounds pretty fantastic, seeing as female beauty is delicate and in many cases short lived. (sickness, no makeup, old age, poverty, fatness or anorexia)

The ugly duckling becoming a swan tale for example is very popular with women. But what about the opposite?

[–] verucasalt23-1 13 years ago

Sorry, but in any high school in the U.S., the girl who play Tracey would be considered undateable. I realize it's un-PC to say that any woman who weighs less than 300 pounds is overweight, but what people admit and what they really think are two different things. Girls who are thinner than her would be considered fat in high school. The ideal for 16-year-old girls is to be an anorexic stick. So yeah, it was cool that she ended up with Zac Efron.

Also, there is the original version of Hairspray with Rikki Lake.

[–] cherry560 12 years ago

That have been in your high school, but some of the most dated and popular females in my school were the "plus size" girls. I guess that's why Hairspray wasn't such a stretch to me.

[–] subase 10 years ago

I don't think men find fat that ugly.

Classic ugly features are bad skin, bad teeth and unsymmetrical facial features.

[–] ShizaMinelli 11 years ago

Rikki Lake better demonstrates what that poster meant than Blonsky imo. So much more charisma.

When you're 17 a cow can seem dangerous and forbidden...am I alone here?

[–] All_Clowns_Are_Evil 12 years ago

"Dogfight"

Sometimes the magic works, sometimes the doves die in your sleeve

[–] Mum_TO_MNS 12 years ago

How about My big fat Greek wedding

[–] stealstorm 12 years ago

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472160/

well its kinda close anyway.

[–] gingasnaps 12 years ago

"Baby Cakes" With Rickie Lake. Of course Rickie wasn't ugly, but she was still heavy at the time and the role called for her to be dowdy (Her character worked in a funeral parlor too.) But she snags the hot guy and comes out of her shell in the process.

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[–] subase 12 years ago

It's interesting that they needed Rickie Lake thought for that role. Rickie Lake not ugly but very very likeable personality wise.

[–] szlovedi-750-209195 10 years ago

If you think about the book, Jane Eyre is also like that. Jane is "plain": not ugly, just simply without any attractive features, while Mr Rochester is not only hot but rich as well. But in the films the actreses who play Jane are always kind of cute. (and we all know how Mr Rochester ends up.)

And there are some guys out there who like fat chicks but many of them would never admit as it is not the trend.

[–] Tinny-Tinette 12 years ago

1. As others have mentioned, it's typical to see an attractive female lead fall in love with the unattractive male lead, yet the roles are hardly ever switched. Probably because the film industry is male dominated and they don't believe audiences would believe an attractive male falling for an unattractive female.

2. I don't necessarily like how the "beast" has a deadline to have someone fall in love with them by that time. It makes it seem like he doesn't genuinely care about the girl and is simply using her so he can become beautiful again. And given the short amount of time that he did have, it's unlikely he would have actually fallen in love with her (or her to him) in such a short duration anyway. And muttering the words "I love you" doesn't MEAN they actually do.

Hi there. You pretty much summed up the issues which has always bothered me with the Beauty and the Beast-story. The deadline-theme is always bothersome.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] cathyjohnson975 12 years ago

Shallow Hal.

[–] BellT 12 years ago

Though Hal wasn't attractive either.

[–] Supertzar 12 years ago

Ugly Betty.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] TinyCricket 12 years ago

I haven't seen this movie since I started the thread, but didn't he have some sort of deadline in Beastly?

"A family. Nothing else matters...it's mom, hide!"

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] TinyCricket 12 years ago

I don't remember this movie being spectacular. I might have even gotten bored. I don't recommend spending any money on it

"A family. Nothing else matters...it's mom, hide!"

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] spazzout0138 12 years ago

The film industry would probably argue that any movie where the popular jock guy falls in love with the quirky nerd girl who gets some beautiful transformation or whatever would qualify as an 'inversion of beauty and the beast'. Obviously, it's still not correct, but you're right.

As for your second point, you're right again, but that's the entire point of the fairytale, unbelievable love. You're supposed to go into the story scoffing and thinking 'yeah right, how can they find love in such a short time', and then whammy! They do. Obviously they're not going for the element of surprise here... but they're not trying to. It's simply one more fairytale element that, I guess kind of sadly, makes it a fairytale.

[–] rex-reyesiii 12 years ago

Just watched this, about the deadline, I think the beastly character wanted more time and asked for it, but then just asked that the blind man see and the black lady was... or get something done to her etc...

The "fairy" in this one also said that he was just being selfish(thinking of the deadline) rather than genuinely wanting the girl to love her.

[–] lexyladyjax 12 years ago

In the original story there wasn't a time limit per se... but the beast had a lifetime limit. When Beauty left the Beast to visit her father he gave her a specific length of time she could be away from him.

Beauty's sisters were jealous of her jewelry, her health and all her pretty dresses so they schemed to keep her away from her Beast a greater length of time. Beauty's father also delayed her return to the Beast from love. She'd promised the Beast a speedy return but enjoyed being in the bosom of her family

Beauty stayed and stayed and stayed too long. She finally broke away from her family, hurrying back to keep her word to return to the Beast as she said she would do. As she returned she hurried as best she could but she knew she might be too late to see her Beast again. With every mile that passed she regretted more and more than she hadn't kept her word to her friend.

When she arrived at last she found the Beast's grounds ill kept, his trees dying and his castle in disrepair. The halls were cold and deserted and the rich tapestries were dusty and threadbare. She searched the rooms for him, calling out for him but she couldn't find him. She walked the alleys of his arbors desperately hoping to find him. At last she discovered him lying outdoors in the snow, nearly dead from despair and loneliness. That's when she knew that she loved him. Beast, don't die, I love you, kiss, ZAP!, he's a Prince, happy ending.

The time period was built into the original story: the beast was under a curse. So many people don't bother to read. sigh The books of Bullfinch's Mythology are all available online free for download or at your local library. There's no longer an excuse for ignorance of the classics.

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