So this weekend, I caught Little Children on one of the movie channels and was really drawn into it. I LOVED this book, so was unsure about a film adaptation, but I thought it was really well-done, if not more bleak than the actual book. I guess it shouldn't be that surprising since Tom Perrotta co-wrote the screenplay, which had to help ensure authenticity.
It's amazing how many books-to-film are popping up these days, especially knowing how difficult it is to actually get a movie made, much less book rights sold, adapted, actors/directors/writers-signed on, etc. And with the writers' strike, these days, nothing is getting bought or sold.
But this season, there are loads of film adaptations popping up on screen. Some are highly praised - Atonement, which I haven't yet seen but people are saying is very good, and ditto Charlie Wilson's War; some are middling - The Golden Compass, which, again, I also haven't seen; and some are just abysmal - P.S. I Love You, which, given the reviews, you couldn't pay me to see. Incidentally, I just bought that book in hopes of reading it before the movie came out (this was before the horrible reviews), and I just couldn't get into it. Which goes to show that reading is so subjective because it was a huge best-seller but just wasn't for me. Go figure.
So, have you seen any of the above adaptations? What are your favorite book adaptations and what were the worst ones you've seen in recent memory?
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6 comments:
I read P.S. I love you a while ago and really liked it. It was a good premise and I have to say it was written in a way that I do remember thinking "this will so be a movie".
I usually end up liking the books better than the movies so for me its exciting to get the books that are being turned into a movie right now and getting great reviews as I have not read them except for p.s. i love you.
The WORST screen adaptation of a book I LOVED was Beloved, which came out a few years ago. A bad movie can turn people off from ever reading the book--in this case a great piece of literature.
Ugh - that first post is from me! Tammie - I hate when my blog stuff gets messed by my husbands blog stuff! Sorry!
I'm almost afraid to see the movie versions of my favorite books. The whole A Prayer for Owen Meany/Simon Birch debacle kind of ruined it for me (and I have a friend who won't read John Irving because he saw Simon Birch and thinks that's the real deal, which is almost a crime).
But on the flip side, I wasn't a huge fan of either The Nanny Diaries or The Devil Wears Prada, and thought both the movies were much better. So who knows?
I just bought P.S. I Love You! I was looking for something light and I thought if they made a movie of it the book must be good, we shall see. Movies can only tell a fraction of the story a novel can, so I'm usually disappointed. I liked The Devil Wears Prada and Freedom Writers,
LOL, Tammie! That's hilarious.
I really loved the film version of The Devil Wears Prada; in fact, everytime it's on, I swear, my husband or I stop on it. He (though very ashamed of it) loves it too.
Bookbabie - let me know what you think of P.S. I love You, the book.
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