| Director | Daniel Barnz |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film, fantasy film, film based on a novel, romance film |
| Runtime | 86 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $17 million |
| Box office | $43.2 million |
Kyle Kingson is the arrogant and vain son of news anchor Rob Kingson. After he bullies Kendra Hilferty, not knowing she is a witch, for defacing his pictures, she transforms him into a bald, scarred, heavily tattooed shell of his former self. She warns Kyle that he will remain altered for the rest of his life, unless he finds someone who loves him by the next spring. Kyle is taken to live in a private house with their maid Zola Davies and his blind tutor Will. Both are comforts to Kyle when his father, unable to deal with his transformation, has abandoned him.
As spring nears, Kyle finds himself infatuated with Lindy Taylor, a former classmate he had avoided. He rescues her drug-addicted father from two dealers, fatally shooting one; the other vows to kill Lindy. Kyle persuades Lindy's father to allow her to move in with him. At first, Kyle uses a false identity and introduces himself as Hunter. He also refuses to see Lindy and hides from her, which angers her to the point that she stops speaking to him. Kyle eventually reveals his face and the two begin to warm up to each other. Kyle writes a letter professing his love for Lindy but does not give it to her for fear of rejection. He visits Kendra to plead for more time; she states the spell cannot be undone, but agrees to restore Will's vision and grant green cards to Zola's three children in Jamaica if he gets Lindy to fall in love with him. Seeing his apparent change of heart, she bids him good luck.
The surviving drug dealer lands in jail. Kyle and Lindy visit Lindy's hospitalized father, who overdosed. Kyle gives her the letter but regrets it when she tells him she considers him a good friend. Lindy calls him after reading the letter, but a heartbroken Kyle does not answer the phone. Persuaded by Will and Zola, Kyle goes to meet Lindy one last time before she leaves on a school trip to Machu Picchu. Kyle tells her to go, but as she leaves, Lindy tells him that she loves him, breaking the curse. Kyle's former self is restored but Lindy does not recognize him and tries to call Hunter but Kyle's phone rings instead. When Lindy realizes what happened, the two share a passionate kiss on the side of the street.
After the curse is lifted, Will wakes up with the ability to see and Zola receives the green cards. An intern (implied to be Kendra) approaches Rob Kingson's office.
An alternate ending was filmed where Lindy gets kidnapped by the drug dealer, and Kyle gets shot while in the process of saving her. As he lies injured in her arms, she confesses her love to him, breaking the curse in a fashion more closely based on the book and the original Beauty and the Beast story. This ending was not used in the official release.