Based on the book?August 30th, 2006 @ 11:51 am
I’m home from work today and Babboo’s home from school. Why? Because I got crap for sleep last night. Why? Because the horrible person who lives above us was up at 3 am with her music cranked up. I’m also pretty sure she was crying. I kept hearing what sounded like marbles on the floor but what I later figured out was her dropping her shot glasses. I was so tired and so pissed that I put my pillow over my head and willed her to just jump off her balcony. I become an extra mean person when awaken to parties at 3 am.
Then Babboo woke up from all the music and crying. I was able to get him back to sleep, but I never fully went back to sleep myself. When the alarm went off, I decided I was calling in sick today. I needed some sleep and some quiet time.
I got up long enough to e-mail my boss then I called Babboo’s school and excused him for the day. We said goodbye to The King and plopped down on the couch to watch some TV.
(I know, I know I should be packing for our trip. Or looking up all of your fabulous suggestions for LA. But first I need to watch TV and snuggle Babboo.)
Guess what we watched? The Color Purple, which is an awesome movie. I hadn’t seen the movie since I was about 13 years old. And I admit, I didn’t really understand it back then. Today, it moved me to tears multiple times. There is nothing I can say about this movie to express how it made me feel to watch. I did remember that it was originally a book that they made into a movie. Now I haven’t read the book, but I imagine it is also amazing.
Which made me think about all the books that are made into movies and how mostly they suck.
The King and I just finished watching In Her Shoes last night, and while the movie was good, they sure did leave a lot of stuff out. I mean, entire plot lines. It’s was so weird to watch it and be like; what happened to the part where Maggie lives at the university?
Plus I don’t remember Rose liking Maggie so much? And wasn’t she fatter in the book? Toni Collette was way too hot. Which is like the movie Circle of Friends where Minnie Driver got all fat, but really wasn’t fat. Mostly her hair was just bigger. That movie left a ton out from the book.
And don’t even get me started on A Walk to Remember, which is pretty must not even the same story as the book. I’m not even sure how they can call it the same story. Yes, there is a girl that dies in the end of the movie, but that is about the only thing that’s the same as the book. I loved the movie, I liked the book. But they really aren’t the same story.
I love Nick Hornby. But really, how is the movie High Fidelity like the book? It isn’t even based in the same country for crying out loud. In honor of Rob, the lead character in High Fidelity, I present you with my top 3 movies that were bases on a book:
So tell me, what are some other movies/books that I’m forgetting about? Are there any others that you thought shouldn’t even share the same title? Or where the movie was actually tons better than the book.
Or are there any books that you’re just dying for them to make a movie out of? For me it would be The Drifters by James A. Michener.
Random
ramblingmuse
said,
August 30, 2006 at 8:52 pm
Wow. Am I first to comment? Usually I’m like number 25 or 30 on your list of admirers to post!
There are plenty of books/movies that come to mind:
Sphere, Jurassic Park, Joy Luck Club, A Time to Kill, Harry Potter…
I could go on. The most recent one that’s out in the theatres is “How to Eat Fried Worms”. I have a feeling that won’t be anything like I remembered it to be as a kid.
Usually I try to read the book before I watch a movie, but I keep my expectations super low. The movie is rarely ever as good as the book!
Glad you had a good mental health day.
Cheers!
Lisa B
said,
August 30, 2006 at 8:54 pm
I’m dying to see them make “The Lovely Bones” into a movie.
I remember thinking the movie “Sleeping with the Enemy” was way better than the book. And I LOVED the movie “Vanity Fair”. I thought that was as good as the book — even a bit better. And although the BBC did “Pride and Prejudice” that was a very true to the book, it was a bit long in some places. But I did love the movie as much as the book. And now that I’m reading “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen, I think I like the movie version better.
Oh and “Great Expectations” was a stinky movie but a good book. I usually am really let down by the movie if I’ve read the book.
Will have to read “The Drifters”.
Nap Queen
said,
August 30, 2006 at 9:21 pm
Sorry about your crap-ass neighbor. I HATE waking up to partying (we have those neighbors, too).
I LOVED both the movie and book versions of About a Boy. Soooo good. I thought The Cider House Rules was an awesome movie until I read the book. Um, John Irving left like 25% of the book out of the script! I just watched In Her Shoes, too, but I’ve never read the book. It’s a cute story.
Carrisa
said,
August 30, 2006 at 9:46 pm
I loved High Fidelity the book and while it is quite a bit different from the movie, there was enough time that went by between me reading it and seeing the movie that I love the movie. It’s in my top 5 (heh).
I am a huge fan of Jane Green novels so I would love for any of them (especially Jemima J!) to be made into a movie.
I didn’t read In Her Shoes, I did see the movie, but also by Jennifer Weiner was Good In Bed which I did read. I would love to see a movie made of that too.
I really just want to see more movies with fat actresses in them! Or at least ones who look fat and then get thin for the books purposes.
I pretty much stick to reading Chic Lit… so anyways.
Audrey
said,
August 30, 2006 at 10:04 pm
I, too, am a very grumpy person when woken up in the middle of the night. It’s not a pretty picture. At all.
I know there have been movies made from books that I have hated for their differences, but I am drawing a blank right now. I think “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” did a pretty darn good job of following the book. And although “The Devil Wears Prada” movie varied slightly from the book, I still think they did a really good job with it.
I second the vote for movies made from Jane Green novels. (Jemima J. is my favorite, too!) I would also love love LOVE to see a movie made of “Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet. It’s one of my favorite books of all time.
Lauren
said,
August 30, 2006 at 10:44 pm
They are making the series “His Dark Materials” into a movie very soon and I am practically holding my breath for it. I LOVED the series and am so curious if they will be able to make it live up to my expectations. Please, oh, please!!!
Sarah
said,
August 30, 2006 at 10:48 pm
I am totally with you on the Circle of Friends commentary. I looooooved the book and the movie did not do it justice. And when people gain all of this weight to be “fat” in movies it just kills me. Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones is “fat” then I am the size of my house.
Frema
said,
August 30, 2006 at 11:33 pm
So much to say! Here goes:
- Loved In Her Shoes the movie, but don’t really want to read the book.
- Loved The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe book, but thought the movie oversimplied the relationships the children had with each other.
- I never saw A Walk to Remember or read the book, but my sister loves this movie. As in, goes psycho for this movie.
- I loved High Fidelity, both the movie and the book. In fact, the movie is one of my favorites movies ever.
- I loved the LOTR movies, but only read The Hobbit, so I don’t know how they measure up.
- The Harry Potter movies do a really good job of staying true to the book; the last couple have been a bit choppier, but enjoyable nonetheless. Can’t wait for movie number five.
Luke is on a business trip, so I could keep going, but it’s probably best for both of us if I just stop now, though I will say I was happy to hear you took a personal day. Hope you and Babboo had fun.
Jennifer
said,
August 30, 2006 at 11:44 pm
My favorite book is possibly The House of the Spirits. I never knew there was a movie until this summer. I watched it, and was HORRIFIED. It was so, so awful. And that’s not because I was just holding the bar too high. Sooo awful.
Memoirs of a Geisha I thought was great in book and movie versions, but that is probably because I saw the movie first, and then the book definitely lived up to it.
But I think that The Mermaid Chair is going to take the cake for me. I loooved the book — cried like a baby at the end — and I saw last week that they are making it into a miniseries on Lifetime in Sept. Normally I would be excited, because I love Lifetime, but then I saw a preview and it just looked awful. So bad. Kim Bassinger is playing the lead, and I can’t see her as anything but Eminem’s cracked out mother ever sice 8 mile. And the dude the got for the male lead looks like a turtle.
(I just bought In Her Shoes, and I’m psyched to read it… guess I’ll skip the movie though).
velocibadgergirl
said,
August 31, 2006 at 12:12 am
I really REALLY loved the movie version of Whale Rider, and actually liked the book a lot less when I finally read it.
I thought the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie was cute, even though it left out tons and tons of stuff.
I also really like Practical Magic, but since I haven’t read the book yet, it might be cheating to mention that one.
Jessie
said,
August 31, 2006 at 12:45 pm
The Color Purple in book form is amazing. I definitely suggest reading it.
One movie/book combination that should not share the same name is “Along Came a Spider” by James Patterson. The movie used the same character names and someone was kidnapped, but that was about all they had in common. It was horrible.
My favorite movies based on books are the Harry Potter movies. I love seeing those books come to life and what the directors see in their heads based on the words.
Stuart
said,
August 31, 2006 at 3:14 pm
A River Runs Through it.
“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”
Book or movie. Both are great.
Judy
said,
August 31, 2006 at 4:22 pm
i totally agree with your No. 1 choice. About A Boy (the movie) was very good and quite close to About A Boy (the book).
but, i don’t know anything about the other two to make comments on.
you know which movie i was TOTALLY and COMPLETELY disappointed with? The DaVinci Code. the book was AWESOME; very gripping. the movie? eh. they changed so much of the storyline. and the ending! oy, the ending was completely different. drove me crazy. i can understand that some things need to be adapted/taken out for time’s sake with a movie… but why must they always change the ending?? it just really bothers me.
Liberal Banana
said,
September 5, 2006 at 5:59 pm
You think Toni Collette was hot in In Her Shoes? I think she is quite possibly the ugliest actress in all of Hollywood. I hate to be so mean, but…seriously!