Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Waiting for the movie

If you've been to a theater or watched television at all in recent weeks, you've seen the ads for "My Sister's Keeper" due out June 26. (Inc ase you've missed it ...watch a trailer.

It's an adaptation of one of my favorite recent novels by Jodi Picoult.

"Keeper" is the story of a girl conceived to save her ailing older sister seeking legal freedom from her parents.

It's a powerful novel.

I wonder if the film, which stars Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin and Cameron Diaz, will live up to its source material.

I'm willing to give it a try. While I prefer books to movies generally, there have been some films that certainly did justice to their novels.

I think of classics like "Rebecca" (what can I say it is my favorite) and "Gone with the Wind."

I think of more recent works like "Mystic River" and "Atonement."

There have been some disappointments to be sure. Did anyone see "The Secret Life of Bees?"

And then there are those works that fall in the middle. For me, it's the screen versions of the Harry Potter books.

The movies are entertaining and if I hadn't read the books, I'm sure I'd rave. But so much of the charm of J.K. Rowling's works is in its cleverness. Who didn't smile the first time they read Diagon Alley?

It's just not the same experience on film.

What do you think? Is there a movie adaptation you loved? hated?

- Tricia Ambrose

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