The fact that there are movies based on books originally published on Wattpad may make people groan. Although movies like the After franchise have a strong following from loyal fans, average viewers do not enjoy the interplay between two people in a relationship portrayed on screen.
Beautiful Disaster might be an exception to the rule. It is about Abby (Virginia Gardner) an ever first year college student trying to forget her dark past and start life anew in college. In College she comes across Travis (Dylan Sprouse), a sophomore underground fighter who appears to be everything Abby is against. After making a bet, these two experience more love and affection for each other.
It is adapted from Jamie McGuire’s book Beautiful Disaster. By going beyond the text that it was based upon, Beautiful Disaster does improve upon its source material sufficiently enough to find its own niche in arguably one of those markets that too saturated nowadays.
Beautiful Disaster takes the common stereotype of young women heading off to campus and instantly falling for older men and turns it into something fresh. Even though both Travis and Abby probably fall for one another rapidly there is perpetual recognition by Abby with regards to the fact that he isn’t what she needs in her life, why she made this choice however?
Abby was known as a competent poker player when still young. At some point, her dad became less skilled at playing compared to before which brought about differences between the two of them. Instead of becoming a professional card shark, Abi fled instead opting to pursue education while accompanied by America who was her best friend at that particular time (Libe Barer). It might sound ridiculous but those details are keeping it from being superficially done. This means sending money orders so she pays for school fees where usually it would require checks or electronic payments. She already knows it won’t last forever; thus, it’s important for her getting ready for job searching as well as planning ahead even before she exhausts her stash of cash. Even though these might seem small, they make a fairly good escape story because nothing is ever perfect.
In the third act, which takes a departure from the source material, there is an additional twist that gives Abby’s story more depth. Provided he gets off without being harmed (and with lots of money), he is willing to push his daughter into this life forever. There is no doubt in readers’ minds about whether her relationship with father can be saved at this point. This validates Abby’s actions and offers essential character development.
The book has also drawn criticism for its portrayal of a toxic relationship between Abby and Travis; however, the film does well in that regard. Though Travis remains protective as depicted in it, it fits right into the funny mood of the movie. Their fights are almost always hidden behind closed doors and then solved unlike being allowed just to boil over in public places. These changes contribute to making this particular narrative different from others like it, for better or for worse though depending on how you look at them..
Beautiful Disaster, unlike other films in its category, is more of a comedy than a drama. This should not suggest that the movie lacks any drama; however, the film uses humor to push the plot forward and hint at who each character really is which brought a fresh change. One memorable scene includes Travis’ cousin Shepley (Austin North) struggling on a motorcycle and Abby’s reaction to sleep-touching.
However, the comedy isn’t always successful. Some scenes, particularly those with more sexual content cross from being funny into making you squirm with embarrassment due to what characters say and do or how they behave. These scenes are simply trying too hard or go overboard just for the sake of prolonging an already worn out joke instead of having real comedic value.
However, this also goes for Travis’ trash talk during fights. Despite well-choreographed fight sequences that are great fun to watch, his response to them as well as the way he mocks his adversaries spoils everything. To be honest it was rather odd watching this fighter make monkey sounds while climbing over bars around fighting arena and not in a good way.
These issues derive from scriptwriting and editing rather than Gardner or Sprouse’s performances. Both actors add substance to their roles even if sometimes their lines sound forced or unnatural but it is evident that they both enjoy acting them out on set despite limitations of scripting by such directors as Viola Davis. In fact Gardner carries Abby’s story backward but does so by nailing both timing for laughs especially during her time at the casino and displaying variegated emotions through her eyes which invariably bring tears for poor Abby towards finale.
In particular Sprouse is able to fully project into what makes Travis enigmatic according to this picture. This trait translated into strikingly humorous timing but also adapted itself convincingly enough towards serious beats along the storyline progression carried out by him powerfully enough with regard his interactions before supremacy ringside and the way he is with Abby after all of this.
Ultimately, Beautiful Disaster improves on the adaptation format by focusing on more positive aspects of the relationship between Abby and Travis while tweaking the plot to give Abby’s past more depth. The alterations may upset its fans but they breathe life into a story that sets it apart from others in its genre making it distinctively characterized by character agency and having a tone similar to rom-coms of the 2000s because there is too much humor.
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