movie adapatations.

so, this past weekend was the weekend of movie adaptations.

on friday, i got home (from my halfpricebooks binge) and my sister mentioned that One for the Money had just come out that day.

now, if you don't know anything about One for the Money or the book series it's based on, here's a quick update: One for the Money is the title of the first Stephanie Plum novel, a series of which there are currently 18 novels, written by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum is a jersey chick who just can't get it together. she's been laid off, her car has been repo-ed, and since she has no other options, she goes to work for her cousin Vinnie. Vinnie is sexually depraved, but he also runs a bail bonds place. Stephanie Plum begins working for him as a bounty hunter, and hilarity ensues.

i adore these books.

i have been reading about Stephanie Plum's adventures in the art of bounty hunt since i was a freshman in high school, when i picked up my very first copy of One for the Money. since then, Evanovich has been pumping out Stephanie Plum novel after Stephanie Plum novel. i just bought the latest, #18:

Explosive Eighteen
by Janet Evanovich

needless to say, when i heard that they were making a Stephanie Plum MOVIE, i went berserk.

this was going to be great! Stephanie Plum???! a movie???! i couldn't even IMAGINE how funny it would be! the books are hysterical (i used to read them up in my bedroom when i lived back home with my mom, and Al would hear me laughing and knock on my door to make sure i wasn't having some kind of fit or something). i honestly couldn't wait to see it.

then i heard who would be playing Stephanie Plum. now, i don't have anything against Katherine Heigl, but i just didn't SEE IT. i simply could not picture this blonde Grey's Anatomy alum playing my favorite of comedic heroines. i just couldn't. but we gave it a try, me and Al (she's been a fan of the books for a few years now)...and our fears were confirmed.

it was a cute movie, don't get me wrong. but that's all it was. the books live in an atmosphere of hyper-reality where nothing is very realistic (even though it's realistic fiction) and everything is hyperbole.

the movie...was just a romantic comedy.

but i wanted SO MUCH MORE from it.

there's this last bit at the end, though. and man. that one MOMENT is gold. i don't want to give too much away, but the main male lead shows up at Katherine Heigl's (i refuse to call her Stephanie Plum, because she is NOT) door and says, "i saw this and thought of you." he then proceeds to hold up a cupcake.

i'll admit it. i melted. in the end, those damn cupcakes always get me. cupcakes and cheesy lines.

well, the NEXT night, i had plans to go see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

i'd read the novel this past june on my family's 27 hour drive from Houston to Gary, Indiana, and it had completely stolen my heart. i don't even think i can do justice to the book in a summary. you really just have to read it.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer

the main character is a young boy whose father died in the 9/11 tragedy. the boy, whose name is Oskar, feels that he is beginning to lose the connection he had with his father, whom he loved dearly, and while going through his father's belongings, finds a small key. Oskar embarks on a journey through New York City to find the lock that fits his father's key. the book is beautifully written, but it's so much more than just a novel. there are black and white pictures throughout the novel that tie in with the story. there are pages of black and white print with red circles around meaningful words. there is an old man in the story who no longer speaks, and instead writes all of his dialogue, which is represented by single pages with simple lines written in the middle of them.

quite honestly, i think the book is more a work of art than a novel.

and you know what? the movie was just as beautiful.

there are so few times when i see a movie that's been adapted from a book and think, "holy cow. that was GOOD." but it happened this time. and i'm so glad it did. because i can live with hollywood screwing up my Stephanie Plum novels. i can live with that. but you don't screw up a book like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

you just don't.