Movies from books
June 24, 2009
I watched Choke awhile back, maybe a year after reading the book. I liked it, casually. It was like watching a cable sitcom, or rather, a pilot for a cable sitcom. Loose and undeveloped, it played out in a shallow world with the characters not quite sure of themselves... but the whole thing was draped over a solid, reliable Palahniuk skeleton. Even through all the frump and the cheese you find yourself saying Ah! There's that story I know and kind of like! Yes, fun to watch, fun to read. No serious deviations here; whoever got the idea to adapt it to the screen treated it like an out-of-the-box movie instead of artistic inspiration. And the results! What's the worst that could happen with a fast-paced dark comedy about sex addiction in a style that's all punch, snark and shock value? Mediocrity! What else can you expect from movies, right?
Blade Runner, on the other hand, well, that's another story. I mean actually another story. It's as if someone placed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in a witness protection program. Beyond a few loose interpretations of characters, you really have to hunt for similarities. I imagine a hollywood shaker of the small fish variety putting the book down and thinking, Damn! This could go places! and immediately reporting to the next stop in the food chain. That next stop, of course, the big fish variety, only has eyes for zaz. Zaz! Androids you say? Sex you say? Let's grab some props form Total Recall and toss in a film star! Towards the end I found myself buzzing through a few lines of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas now and again, just to keep things interesting.
Oh movies from books, you're a wild ride.
Tags for this piece: books nonfiction opinion palahniuk movies