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The Fantasticks (movie)

Or A Script Can Still Be Considered A Book Right? Right!

Background: The Fantasticks opened in 1960 with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. The story is loosely based on Les Romanesques by Edmund Rostand. Today it is one of the longest running musicals, with the revival reopening in 2006 (notably with Santino Fontano, who played Hans in Frozen, as Matt). It is also one of my favorite shows and Louisa is a dream role for me.

About the Movie: Matt and Louisa are lovers who's fathers' feud forbids them from being together. However the feuds a fake, developed by their fathers so that they would get together. With the help of El Gallo they plan to end the feud and get the lovers together. But remember, life doesn't end on a moonlit night.

Why it works: I love El Gallo owning a traveling carnival. It allows them to create a fantasy world without deviating too far from the laws of reality. El Gallo himself is great, having the same kind of older allure as David Bowie in Labyrinth (now I really want David Bowie to play El Gallo). The Dads are also great with their very distinctive walls. I especially love Bellamy. When he and Huckabee get found out by their kids, his face to Louisa killed me. Henry and Mortimer are fine, and it was nice to add some elements of the Mute with casting Teller of Penn and Teller as Mortimer. Plus, I love how they do "Round and Round", although not a big fan of the word changes and Matt's annoying screams.

Why it doesn’t: I can't stand Louisa and Matt in this. I think they're voices are the weakest. In fact, the singing is the weakest thing about this, which is terrible for a musical movie! Cutting stuff so that Huckabee doesn't really have to sing, changing songs to fit actors, cutting "Try to Remember" at the beginning (?!). In the end, it just doesn't work. It just leaves me missing "It Depends On What You Pay" and "Plant a Radish".

Quick reviews

Conclusion: While I think the singing is bad, it does technically cover almost everything so it still gets a not -so-bad score as an adaptation. It's fun to laugh at more than anything else so grab some theatre buddies and some alcohol and have fun!

#The Fantasticks #Adaptation Review #adaptation #review #movie #movie review #musical #play #critique

Dorothy Must Die (book)

Or Shock Value, Radical Choices, and a Pair of Shoes

Background: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum. It was made into a musical in 1902 and then more famously made into a movie in 1939. It eventually led Baum to write a full series related to the world. Over the years, The Wizard of Oz (as it was shorted to), has remained a staple in the American cannon, inspiring creativity today. It also is said to be an allegory arguing against the gold standard.

About the Book: Amy Gumm is just trying to survive day to day with a pregnant popular girl giving her shit and her alcoholic mom not caring. So when a tornado comes and whisks her trailer to Oz, she doesn't think it can get any worse. But Oz is different now with Dorothy in control. Now Amy must join with witches and monkeys and even the Wizard himself to finally end Dorothy's reign.

Why it works: Well, I mean, it's creative. It also knows about elements of the original series, not just adapting from the movie.

Why it doesn't: It may be creative but goodness does it depend heavily on shock value. It depends heavily on taking what you know from the original story and ramming you with a twisted version. It becomes a point where the characters don't feel remotely familiar, especially with ho "evil" they have all become. The love plot feels forced and the whole "chosen one" vibe that the witches treat Amy as seems not only unnecessary but overused. In addition the ending is rushed and I am ashamed I could not guess the twist.

Quick reviews

Conclusion: I feel invested so I'll probably buy the next book, but I'm not happy about it. The series would really need to step it up and stop relying on shock value alone.

#Dorothy Must Die #Adaptation Review #adaptation #review #critique #book #Wizard of Oz

The Princess Diaries (movie)

Or Well I Mean They’re Both Good

Background: The Princess Diaries was published in 2000 by Meg Cabot. The book did very well, becoming a New York Times best-seller and winning the Evergreen Young Adult Book Award as well as the TASL Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award. In less than a year it was made into a movie staring Anne Hathaway in her film debut as Mia and our Queen, Julie Andrews, as her Grandmother.

About the Movie: Mia Thermopolis just wants to date the cute guy in school, pass math, and basically just survive high school. Then she learns that she's the heir to the Genovian throne (Shut-UP!). Now she has to deal with Princess Lesson from her grandmother while dealing with her new unwanted popularity.

Why it works: It's fun, it's cheesy, it's girly, I'm biased! I still remember seeing this movie in theaters. Hell, it was the first cd I ever bought with my own money! My college roommates and I would sing quite loudly (sorry neighbors) the Genovian National Anthem at two in the morning. While I have heard the argument that it's the same old romantic comedy cliché's, which I won't deny, The Princess Diaries is important to my generation because it was probably the first romantic comedy that my generation saw. Plus, Mia is a likeable character, all of them are, and their performances make them believable as people, even these unlikely circumstances. Plus, our Queen, Julie Andrews!

Why it doesn't: Oh God, where to begin. For being a fun movie, it is a terrible adaptation! The location's changed, names are altered, a character's cut completely (but most of you don't even know who Tina is). This is fine, even understandable in some cases, and the books ended up giving a reason as to why Tina wasn't there. But two main things ended up happening. One, they killed off the dad. Rereading the first book for this, I realized the dad is kind of an important character. He becomes the link between Mia and her grandmother. He is torn between duty to his daughter and duty to his country which makes it more impactful when he does choose Mia. The second issue is that they changed all of the personalities radically. Mia becomes less of a free-spirited activist and more of the manic pixie dream girl. Lily becomes more about her show than about her causes. Lars/Joe does kind of gain more of a personality, which is good, but the Queen. Queen Clarisse Renaldi is made fucking nice! BULLSHIT! Queen Clarisse Renaldi is not nice, Queen Clarisse Renaldi is a fucking viper who only speaks French, criticizes everything you do, and has her eyeliner permanently tattooed from when she went through a phase in the 80's. God, imagine Julie Andrews as that Queen! That would have been awesome!

Quick reviews

Conclusion: It's fun and girly and I'll be the first to admit I have some nostalgic bias. But had I not seen the movie first and had instead went in knowing the book, I'm sure I would've not like the movie as much as I do.

#The Princess Diaries #Adaptation Review #movie #adaptation #review #critique

Beastly (book)

Or Why This Is One Of My Favorite Books And You Should Love It Too

Background: Although this kind of story can be found with Cupid and Psyche as well as The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, the specific story of Beauty and the Beast was first written in 1740 by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, a French writer. This version, inspired by folklore, was intended more for adults. However, the version that most know is by Madame Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont who wrote her 1757 story more for children. Fast forward to the twentieth century and you have two very important films, the 1946 French live-action film, La Belle et La Bête, and the first animated feature to be nominated for best picture, Disney's 1991 film Beauty and the Beast. Finally, in 2007, Alex Flinn wrote Beastly.

About the Book: Beastly follows the story of Kyle Kingsbury, who gets much more then he bargains for when he invokes the wrath of a real witch from his English class and gets hit with a curse. Now he has two years to have someone fall in love with him, and he with her, and kiss him to prove it. Or else he'll remain a beast forever.

Why it works: While many works have tried, Beastly is one of the best at seamlessly mixing magic and the modern world. We see chat rooms and Google maps mad trying to anonymously find love on the internet alongside classic elements like literature and roses. Logically, everyone around Kyle assumes that the curse is some sort of disease or sickness. No one wants to believe in magic, which makes the use of it so impactful. In addition, Kyle is a great narrator. There is humor and sarcasm as well as pain scattered throughout the novel. The growth that he goes through in also incredibly realistic, making him a remarkably believable character. The supporting characters are also fantastic. Linda, our Beauty figure, can also be seen growing and changing alongside our Beast, making their love story believable. Kendra is great as our witch because she doesn't just disappear, she instead remains active enough but not interfering. Also, Will is hilarious and you should love him.

Why it doesn't: It dates itself a little bit, especially with the use of MySpace. However, I think the book itself and the way it tells the story, allows it to become timeless.

Quick reviews

Conclusion: Read this book. This is probably the best example of modernizing a fairy tale and keeping the magic. I guarantee, if you love Beauty and the Beast, fairy tales, or just a good Young Adult novel, you will love Beastly.

#Beastly #Adaptation Review #book #critique #book review

Welcome One and All!

This little blog is Adaptation Review

A little backstory: I love Fairy Tales. No, I mean I LOVE Fairy Tales. I grew up with Disney and over time have studied the original stories. I also love classic literature. Eventually I grew up (with lingering fantasies in my head) and went off to college where I received a double degree in English and Theatre. During my time in college, I began realizing how frequent media today recycles stories. Not just film either. Literature (especially young adult), theatre, and now web series tend to recycle old classics. And many times, it's terrible.

And sometimes, it's amazing.

So that's the point of Adaptation Review, to critique films, books, plays, and web series as an existing work and as an adaptation. New reviews will come out every Monday and Thursday so follow and come check it out!

As I always say, Enjoy!

Luna

#Adaptation Review #adaptation #review #critique #welcome #film #book #play #web series

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