Freshman Abby Abernathy (Virginia Gardner) is a poker prodigy, known as Lucky 13, who was taught by her father, Mick (Brian Austin Green), and spent her childhood bailing him out while living in Las Vegas. Wanting a fresh start, Abby heads off to college in hopes of having a normal life. When she arrives, her friend America (Libe Barer) takes her to an underground fight club where she meets Travis “Mad Dog” Maddox (Dylan Sprouse), who is distracted by Abby during the fight, but still wins, finishing with a punch to his opponent’s face, causing blood to spray all over Abby.
Travis is a sophomore with a bad boy attitude who always calls Abby “Pigeon” for some reason. He’s also a womaniser who has a bedside drawer full of condoms and sex toys. “You’re not my type,” Abby tells him. “I’m everybody’s type,” he says. In trying to distance herself from her complicated and chaotic past, Abby tries to resist Travis, but she cannot help her natural attraction to him. He makes her feel crazy and she’s already had enough crazy for one lifetime.
Based on the book of the same name by Jamie McGuire, Beautiful Disaster was directed by Roger Kumble (Cruel Intentions, Just Friends) who co-wrote the script with McGuire. The novel was originally posted on Wattpad, a website for posting original stories, and it definitely comes across that way. In one scene, Travis wakes up to a half-asleep Abby touching his morning boner thinking it’s something else—a mouse? In another, Travis talks about how Abby’s cleavage will distract him during a fight and they make a bet that if Travis’ opponent lays a hand on him he’ll go without sex for three months, and if he wins then she has to stay with him for a month. “But get it through your head, “she says. “I am never having sex with you.” Travis responds with, “I don’t wanna have sex with you, Pidge, I wanna be around you. You’re good for me.” Their faces are so close that they should kiss.
Abby and Travis are clearly attracted to each other, but it’s hard to fully believe that they fall in love, especially when the majority of their month living together is portrayed in a quick montage. They have stupid miscommunications like Travis seeing messages from Mick and assuming it’s Abby’s secret boyfriend and other arguments that feel contrived. Gardner was great in the 2018 film Starfish but she struggles here due to the script, however her performance picks up during the third act. It’s the same with Sprouse, someone who has delivered better performances, but he does what he can with the material.
In spite of—or maybe because of—its poor writing, Beautiful Disaster has its amusing moments with lots of silliness. In one scene, a drunk Abby throws up on Travis’ face while kissing, and in another their attempt to have sex in a Vegas hotel room plays out like a comedy routine. I doubt the book was any better, though I hope it at least fleshed out some characters more. It’s an entertaining film, one you can throw on and enjoy passively. I suppose it’s a Beautiful Disaster itself, and sometimes that’s enough.
Beautiful Disaster is currently streaming on Prime Video UK.
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