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

Fran Drescher, as nasal as ever, is mistaken for a science teacher and is whisked off to an East European country to instruct the 4 children of widower dictator Timothy Dalton.This is definitely a ripoff of the television series The Nanny. Even Phyllis Newman, who briefly appears as her mother, tries to imitate the great Renee Taylor's Sylvia in the television show. I expected Grandma Yetta to come out but that does not occur.The story is basically where our beautician (Fran) softens the heart of the ruthless dictator. He learns about life from Drescher and the two are finding love until a political situation threatens to end all that.The film is routine in nature.To paraphrase the song from the television show:She was a beautician in the borough of Queens.Until a fire broke out in one of those crushing scenes.What was she to do, where was she to go, she was not working?So to Eastern Europe she flew when she was thought to be a teacher. The dictator, the beast, was quite a creature.She had style, she had class, that's why she became his lover.

"She was there to sell make-up, but the Eastern European dictator saw more.""She had style, she had flair, she was there - that's when she became - the teacher!"Exactly the same sort of "Miss Fine!!" situations.I haven't seen the whole thing, but I'm assuming that he'll tell her he loves her, and then will take it back. She'll re-mould him from being a stere0typical stuffed shirt and everyone will love her. The kids will fall in love with her and she'll be their rock. Eventually the dictator will stop living in denial and finally marry her, go through a few formal embarrassing situations and in the end they'll have boy and girl twins.I just miss the desperate dictator's assistant, her banter with the cheeky butler and the mother who drops in every five minutes to eat something.

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.