Based on Jamie McGuire's 2011 romance novel of the same name that was originally posted on fiction website Wattpad, Beautiful Disaster may seem like it would fall into the same category as other typical teen melodramas such as the After series.
However, it's refreshing to see that Beautiful Disaster doesn't take itself too seriously with it's surprisingly good comedic timing. In particular with Dylan Sprouse's "bad boy" underground fighter character Travis Maddox who is shown to be more charismatic and humorous than the usual brooding rogue.
It even takes a few harmless jibes at the After franchise (which Dylan has also appeared in), in particular when we see Travis' cousin Shepley (Austin North) sobbing as he watches an emotionally charged scene between the two main characters on TV. This goes to show that although this romcom is fully aware of the somewhat cheesy expectations it could fall in, it is purely there to entertain audiences and nothing more.
However, some of the comedy does fall rather flat and you find yourself feeling second-hand embarrassment or awkwardly laughing at some of the over the top gags.
Although it does use the debatably tired trope of "ordinary girl meets bad boy" with Abby Abernathy (Virginia Gardner) resisting to fall in love with college campus charmer Travis, her interesting backstory redeems this.
In Beautiful Disaster, during Abby's childhood, she was a well-known poker player taught by her expert father, Mick (Brian Austin Green). As she got older her skills got better, while her dad's declined. But fed up with constantly bailing out Mick and his gambling ways, she goes to college in Sacramento with her best friend America (Libe Barer) for a fresh start.
It may be an offbeat premise, but the small details serve as an important character development for Abby, especially in the final act where we see the deceitful lengths Mick goes to to force his daughter into a lifestyle she doesn't want, all for his benefit.
Beautiful Disaster also strays from the book, which some may not approve of, but it does this in a way so that it stands out against a dense market by focusing on more comedic aspects of the love story.
Despite some flaws, it's a surprisingly funny yet charming romcom with great chemistry between Dylan and Virginia that makes it an entertaining watch whether it be at home or at the cinema. Although it may not be everyone's cup of tea if you're a firm believer in sticking to the source material.
