Dismantle My Bed

There are a few exceptions. Very rarely, a movie will be made based on a book that is actually better than the book itself. Very, very rarely. Once in a while, it’s even a TV show based on a book that is better than the original. Again, rare.

Most of the time, moving images based on novels are shlockfests of the highest caliber. Why?

I think it comes down to two major opposing issues.

1. The movie is a direct translation of the book from page to screen.

The dialogue is the same. The scenes are exactly the same and occur in the exact same order.

Now, this sounds like a wonderful thing. The problem is thus -

Movies aren’t novels and novels aren’t movies. You can write a twenty page stare-off into a novel and keep it interesting. Try putting a twenty minute stare-off into a movie and see how many people are still in the theater when the contest ends.

2. The movie completely disregards the book.

The plot is barely intact. The characters barely behave like themselves. All of that funny dialogue that provided you such a hearty belly laugh while reading has been rewritten. It’s lost its essence.

And it doesn’t have to happen like this! Because while a movie is not a novel and a novel is not a movie, a great scene with great dialogue is just as effective in both. If it worked in the novel, a complete overhaul is rarely necessary. Sometimes its just someone taking too many liberties with a story that doesn’t belong to them. Tragic.

With the exception of a select few adapted screenplays, I find that you are better off seeing movies based on a book you haven’t read and skipping movies adapted from books you loved.

It’s just safer that way.