No More Wondering
posted on january 8, 2003, tag: entertainment
A few months ago, I read Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys and absolutely loved it. Since then, I have been dying to see the film starrring Michael Douglas. I'd been told, by plenty of people, that the film was great. I asked how it stood in relation to the book, and was told that even though the film was slightly different, it was still excellent.
They were wrong.
Granted, if I hadn't read the book I think I would have liked the film quite a lot. But after having read the terrific book, I couldn't stand the movie. There was so much left out—damned near all of the narrative—and some of the most interesting parts were changed to fit a film setting. In a few cases, this actually removed entire character stories, some that were really great in print.
The problem with a book like Wonder Boys is that it's a great read, but it was clear throughout that read that it wouldn't come across on film. Apparently Hollywood decided that with all their talent and money they could get around that. But you have to ask yourself if it's worth getting around... I mean, can't some great books just stay books?
If you've seen the film but haven't read the book, please do. And if you haven't experienced either, skip the film and just read the book. Yes, I know, reading is harder than sitting in front of a television smoking cigarettes and drifting off—but it's worth it in this case.
Comments
There are 3 comments, comments are closed
Shawn on 01/08/2003:
I'm starting to be against comparing books with movies. When they make a movie out of a book, it begs for comparison but I think it's completely illigitamate. The mediums couldn't be more different. Length being the most obvious (A complete adaptation of a normal novel would probably run about 15 hours). Second is the commitment. You live with a book for a week or maybe more. Attachment happens. Not with a movie. I won't even begin with the differences as to what can and cannot be achieved with both mediums. The best movie-from-books are those that see the core idea and run with it, unafraid of cutting or changing it (Wonder Boys). Bad movie-from-books desperately try to be exactly the book, and of course they always fall short (Harry Potter). Thus, I conclude, you cannot compare a book and a movie that happen to have the same title because the standards by which you judge each of them are entirely different.
John Barker on 01/11/2003:
Catch Me If You Can was pretty good compared to the book.
poetry on 01/04/2004:
I'm with Shawn. To me, when a movie is made out of a book, it's a whole new work derived from a previous one. It's like writing a poem based on a painting.
I still feel like people haven't fully caught up to the idea that the medium is the message, and that content is only secondary.