The Beautician and the Beast (1997)

The Beautician and the Beast (1997): Dir: Ken Kwapis / Cast: Fran Drescher, Timothy Dalton, Ian McNiece, Lisa Jakob, Patrick Malahide: Formula satire settling for someone who brings beauty to another. It opens with an animated dream sequence with a young Princess under a spell until a Prince kisses her awake. All is well until the first words emerge from her mouth. It is that whiny voice that startles the Prince and then startles the film's heroine awake to reality. Fran Drescher stars as a beautician mistaken for a science teacher and she is spirited to London. Timothy Dalton plays an authority figure using strict measures to gain respect. His daughter is one of her pupils but he cannot communicate with her because he ordered the arrest of her patriotic boyfriend. Recycled material by director Ken Kwapis who is given a few, but very few funny moments. Drescher is reciting her sitcom role right down to her wardrobe in a role that has been played by countless actresses with regular voices. She looks fetching in her various flashy clothes but had the screenplay had as much attention then perhaps it might not have sucked. Dalton is as stiff as a board playing another role that never seems to be interesting. Also wasting time are Ian McNiece as Drescher's adviser who obviously didn't advise her against this film. Lisa Jakob as Dalton's daughter is another case of cardboard cut-outs. The title is the most creative aspect. Score: 3 / 10

I though this was a fun, lighthearted movie. I expected the worst, and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. It was put together well and wasn't boring or slow moving. There were funny moments and comments that I remember still. It started out with a similar premise to the Nanny TV show, but quickly moved beyond it. Fran showed more depth of character and independence in this movie than she did (or was allowed to do) in her TV series. Throughout, she is pretty and sexy and dressed to catch attention. It's pretty much a modern fairy tail, like Cinderella, but it doesn't require much suspension of belief. She moves smoothly to charm all around her, including the audience. Timothy Dalton was OK as the Beast, but it was Fran's movie, and he might have been graciously stepping out of her way.

I was apprehensive when this film came on TV, but as there was nothing else on and I was bored I decided to give it a go. It began badly as I found Fran Drescher incredibly annoying, mainly due to her piercing New York accent. Timothy Dalton was fantastic in his role, and made me laugh a number of times. Ian McNeice was also quite good in what was essentially just a rehash of his role in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. The script wasn't excellent but did the job. The film did begin to lose momentum as Timothy Dalton became less beast-ly and the film is about half an hour too long, but those are really the only bad points. This film isn't a work of art, but it provides nice escapism for two hours. 6/10.

I saw this movie in the theater on a hunch and it was a really cute film. The premise is very similar to Fran's "Nanny" role (although in this case, she's the "tutor"). It's clean, the laughs are consistent, and it's a great family film. I'm not saying the film certified for Oscar, but kids would love it.