The Beautician and the Beast (1997)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Ken Kwapis

Writer (WGA):

Todd Graff (written by)

Release Date:

7 February 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Once upon a time...

Plot:

A New York cosmetologist mistakenly thought to be a science teacher is offered a job to teach the children of an Eastern European dictator.

Plot Keywords:

Dictator | Teacher | Beautician | Castle | Fish Out Of Water

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Fran Drescher	...	Joy Miller
Timothy Dalton	...	Boris Pochenko
Ian McNeice	...	Ira Grushinsky
Patrick Malahide	...	Leonid Kleist
Lisa Jakub	...	Katrina Pochenko
Michael Lerner	...	Jerry Miller
Phyllis Newman	...	Judy Miller
Heather DeLoach	...	Masha Pochenko
Adam LaVorgna	...	Karl Pochenko
Kyle Wilkerson	...	Yuri Pochenko
Tyler Wilkerson	...	Yuri Pochenko
Timothy Dowling	...	Alek
Michael Immel	...	Stage Manager
Tonya Watts	...	Model
Tamara Mello	...	Consuela

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild language and sensuality.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | UK:PG (video premiere) | USA:PG (certificate #34952) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

High School Sweethearts

Trivia:

Early in development, Fran Drescher planned the movie to be a spin on The King and I (1956), titled "The King And Oy" but legislatively faced the problem that FOX owned the rights. Therefore, she decided to pay homage to Beauty and the Beast (1991) instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Joy Miller gives the President a massage, she first throws the towel over his behind. In the next shot, though no one has touched the towel, it is now tucked under his body on the massage table.

Quotes:

[Pochenko gestures to hit Katrina]
Joy Miller: What are you doing?
Boris Pochenko: You do not understand
Joy Miller: Oh no? You have the temper of an eight year old, your own children are scared to DEATH of you! And you hit girls! Tell me when I'm getting warm!
Boris Pochenko: This whole thing is none of your business!
Joy Miller: You know maybe you're right. Because even if you can't see that doing the right thing even when you have nothing to gain, is what makes you... a mench, and decent, and civilized! I can't have anything to do with you
Boris Pochenko: They boy will remain in prison, it's none of your business
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

Soundtrack:

Isn't It Romantic

Though I've seen better, I liked it!!!

I have to admit that, for a while anyway, I had a serious crush on Fran Drescher. Those outfits (in Joe's chauvinistic voice): "OH, YEAH!!!" That big '80's hair. And that voice (except when she got whiny)??? Uh-huh-huh! Uh-huh-huh!

"The Nanny" was a good show, though not great. It was raunchy and funny, though, to me (and maybe this is me being more old-fashioned than I'll admit), raunchy sex jokes do not go together with family entertainment. Thus, I was always convinced that it was in a bad time slot. NBC doesn't show "Law & Order" at 8:00 (or 7:00 if you're in Mississippi like me).

Nitpickiness aside, when I heard that she was doing a movie titled "The Beautician and the Beast," I was quite skeptical. I didn't think that it would be any good. But I sucked up any doubts I had and saw it anyway.

I have to admit that, while it's not the best, it's not the worst, either. I actually liked this movie. Granted, the movie is VERY dated (for the most part, Communism is dead), quite predictable (can you say "The Nanny?") and can get downright stupid (what's with the chicken?).

But it can also be funny, like when Joy, Fran's character, gets the workers to strike, in the tradition of Norma Rae, thus angering Boris Pochenko, played adequately by Timothy Dalton. And there were a lot of raunchy references to her relatives, i.e. one of her aunts having to have facial hair removed. And, without giving anything away, I thought the begining was really cute as well.

Not to mention that I was really impressed with a scene near the end of the film where she stands up to Boris. To me, it sounded as if she was really acting, speaking past her quirky voice and speaking the lines with gusto. That may explain how she got a part in a Woody Allen movie, even if it's a bit part.

This film isn't for everybody, especially if you're put off by Fran's voice. And, though there are no sex scenes, there are benign sexual references, not to mention mild language. Others might say "bring the whole family," but I wouldn't. While *I* think she's funny (like I said before), I believe her humor is too raunchy for family entertainment. And some of her humor deals with generalizations, which may explain why you don't see her being compared to Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez or Rene Russo, strong women who aren't afraid to be "one of the boys."