GO Rom Com Spotlight: @thetimemachinejellyfish
The awesome @thetimemachinejellyfish has claimed Sweet Home Alabama to adapt for Good Omens in the Good Omens Rom Com Event.
For reference, here’s a little background about the source material!
About Sweet Home Alabama: New York fashion designer Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) suddenly finds herself engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. But Melanie's past holds many secrets, including Jake (Josh Lucas), the redneck husband she married in high school, who refuses to divorce her. Bound and determined to end their relationship once and for all, Melanie sneaks back home to Alabama to confront her past, only to discover that you can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl.
We spent some time chatting about how the adaptation is coming so far, as well as future plans for it! Now, get to know @thetimemachinejellyfish a little better!
goromcom: It’s Tumblr tag time! You know how if you open a Tumblr chat with someone you haven't chatted to before, Tumblr tells you two things they post about? I wanted to tell you that yours reports that you post "#human au and #aziraphale." Ooooooh, human AU?
thetimemachinejellyfish: I'm not at all surprised than Human AU is one of my tags. I think Human AUs appeal to me with Good Omens because Aziraphale and Crowley - for all that they are immortal occult/ethereal beings - are so relatable. Grappling with feelings of rejection, anxiety, defiance, loneliness, navigating familial expectation and independence. Realizing that you can choose your family, choose your path can be very difficult. These are very human experiences which is why I think Good Omens so adaptable across different contexts. I love Human AUs because I love seeing everyday people make the choice to prioritize their happiness, to create their own safe and loving communities, over and over again. Sometimes we are taught that it's selfish to choose ourselves, our own happiness, so I love being reminded that hey, that's not true :)
goromcom: And you definitely don’t have to be an occult or ethereal being to embrace your own worth and chase your happiness!
You chose to adapt Sweet Home Alabama as your rom com. Has this movie been a favorite of yours, or is there some other reason you chose it?
thetimemachinejellyfish: I'm originally from Alabama, though happily living on the west coast now, so I'm fond of Sweet Home Alabama for that reason. I empathize with Melanie's decision to leave, and the shame she internalized about her roots and has to work through over the course of the film.
goromcom: What's your favorite moment of your chosen rom com, and are you looking forward to presenting it in your adaptation? Any loose plans for that scene that you can share?
thetimemachinejellyfish: I think one of my favorite moments is when Melanie and Jake end up on the dance floor together. Jake offers his hand to dance with her and she says, "Maybe we should just talk," and he walks off with this heartbreaking smile. She watches him leave and you can see the regret in her face too. I'd love to adapt that scene. How many times has Aziraphale said no to Crowley and you can see the pain in Crowley being rejected, and Aziraphale regretting doing what he thinks is "right" at the time? Feels city, I hope!
goromcom: Oh man, I can see the look on poor Crowley’s face already...the poor dear.
Do you plan to stick very closely to the story beats of the original movie, or make bigger changes?
thetimemachinejellyfish: One of my major critiques of original movie is that it is very uncritical of and, in fact, doesn't even acknowledge the deep-rooted prejudice, segregation, and racism of my home state, particularly in terms of the Civil War reenactments and plantation houses. All of that is glossed over in the film as 'funny/quirky Southern traditions' and not the harmful historical revisionism that it is. In addition, Melanie outs her childhood friend as gay in the middle of a bar and that moment is not treated with the amount of care it deserves.The film is telling a very specific story about Alabama... and that is not a narrative I'm interested in reproducing or contributing to.
Now to the parts that I want to salvage: I love the narrative beats of falling in love when you're young, things not working out, taking the time to find yourself, and then rediscovering that love as a more mature person. When you are 18 years old, you don't articulate what it is you want and need out of a relationship the way you do in your 30s, and by your 30s, you are a different person than you were at 18. I'm interested in exploring that kind of growth in terms of Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship - "Garden of Eden" Crowley and Aziraphale are not the same as "Dining at the Ritz Post-Apocalypse" Crowley and Aziraphale, and I think they are better "people" (ethereal/occult beings) for it.
goromcom: It’s really important that we stop glorifying moments in our problematic history and find ways to acknowledge them while building a new and more constructive future, and I think your version sounds much more socially intelligent than the source material. :)
What's an interesting decision you've made in your planning so far--a notable casting decision, a changing of venue, or some other plan you have to paint Good Omens all over your rom com?
thetimemachinejellyfish: Moving the story out of Alabama is probably no surprise to anyone - but I do like that Aziraphale's manner and accent marks him as being "southern", so that'll be an aspect I can play up within the context of the U.K. I honestly think that Aziraphale/Crowley could each be either Melanie or Jake, but for my upcoming story, I'll be setting Aziraphale in the role of Melanie, and Crowley in the role of Jake.
goromcom: He’s THE Southern Pansy. :D And I love that so many stories could be adapted with the two of them in either roles. It shows the depth of characterization in the source material, I think.
I am blatantly stealing this last question from The Good Place: The Podcast, but here goes: Tell me something "good". It can be something big or small. It can be a charity you think is doing good work, or you can talk about how great your pet is.
thetimemachinejellyfish: My community knits scarves, socks and gloves and leaves them tied to park benches and lampposts and fences this time of year. It gets cold and we have a significant population of individuals who are houseless, and it encourages me that community members want to make a (hopefully) tangible difference in whether someone is a little more comfortable this winter. I hope this commitment leads to structural changes in our city to better help people who are struggling!
goromcom: That is beautiful! Such an easy way to make a difference in someone’s life, when so many of us struggle to find ways we can actually be helpful in a way that’s meaningful.
So make sure to check out the GO adaptation of Sweet Home Alabama when it’s posted! Can’t wait!
