I am here to inform you of the travesty that the Breakfast of Champions movie is. This movie is absolutely disgusting--not like gross, but its adaption from the book is disgusting. I know I constantly complain about the people who watch Harry Potter movies and need to exercise every minuscule detail to the point of death and are so fine-tuned to picking out flaws they can't even pay attention to the movie (#4, when I said the scene with the dragons was cool, and a friend I've mine took that as invitation into a long rant about how that was not in the book, and how every other detail that would have made the movie longer than your average city block was not in the book) but talk about raping Vonnegut's genius. He described it as "painful to watch", and he was right. Ugh. What I hated the most was that disgustingly sweet ending. Sure, he was arrested, but how cute, Dwayne's insanity has been destroyed because he loves his wife so much and he loves his son again, and his son loves him back even after his dad slammed his face into the keyboard key's and jammed him into the piano (Bunny's kinder than me. I'd never talk to my dad again if he did that. I might even kill him.) and Trout... I was so disappointed at that. I wanted to see that absolute despair--something wrenching and powerful. Something that would make me feel like my heart was breaking--which it absolutely did at the end of the book, because of what I imagined. (Does my love for that absolute desperation and hopelessness make me sick?)
But--this is where you'll think me to be really sick--I was disappointed Trout was "made young again". The reason why that scene is so powerful, I think, because he realizes that his life is just a plaything--it has been squandered for the... amusement seems too cruel, but it's the best I can do. For the amusement of Vonnegut. He doesn't want to die, he wants that ignorance back, he wanted to just be able to putter along again. But hell. in the movie it was just "oh, you're young again. Look, here's heaven! Let's go! lalalala..." ugh. NO. As I've said earlier, as desirable as happy endings can be, sometimes you need that grim twist of reality. Not only that, they never explained leaks and mirrors, so that bit was lost. Like when Trout hears some guy call the mirror a leak and looks shocked. That's awesome. Why does he care? Ugh. Stop I can't think about it anymore. Buy the book, burn the movie. And not illegally. I mean, in a fire pit.
My awesome friends threw me a coming-home party : ) I'm gonna sound like a huge mushy dork but hey. I thought it was really sweet. Honestly, I was really touched. I mean, I was happy to be hanging out with everybody, but when Meg said "yeah, this is supposed to be a welcome back party" I was like--you guys! Really!? I love you guys! *cries tears of joy in some corner because I really am a big mushy baby* Anyways. Thanks for putting that together, guys!!! I love you!!!
1/3 of the way through War and Peace...
I need to read that book! And SH5. And about a zillion others! It's times like these that i need your super human reading skills!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, you're 1/3 of the way through War & Peace?!? Isn't that book ridiculously long?? Who is it by, James Joyce? Or am I completely wrong as usual?
PS- after posting all these comments, I think that if I ever write a novel, I'm naming the characters after those little things you have to type in to post your comment...it's a weird thing to think of but i really want to do it now!
PPS- or we could use them as names of people and organizations in our screenplay! Like 'Screplon? What does that stand for?' "Oh, nothing! I just let my 4 year old play with those alphabet magnets and I was like 'That'd be a good name for an organization of Assassins!'" Think about it!
that book is amazing <3 and so is SH5.
ReplyDeletemy copy is something like 1075 pages, but usually it's 1444. it's by leo tolstoy
YES! that happened in a stephen king book! this little girl with magnetic letters got possessed or something and started spelling messages with her alphabet magnets. And screplon's awesome. Like an evil lizard mutant hitman. YES.
Lizard assassins are AWESOME!! It'd be like those SoBe Life Water commercials with the crazy CGI lizards, except it goes horribly wrong (or would it be horribly right?)
ReplyDeletei have never seen those commercials... but i trust you
ReplyDelete