Recasting The Romantic Comedy

So this came out recently:

Did I go see it? No, no I did not. For one thing, it looked terrible. Also, Kutcher. Has the world really not gotten tired of seeing him as a leading man? Really?

I did find the casting of Natalie Portman interesting, though. I don't think she's an actress who seems particularly suited to romantic comedies--she never comes across as terribly warm, I find. All the same, I appreciated that someone, somewhere was getting a bit more creative in casting.

And it got me to thinking....

Mean-Spirited With Slightly Sinister Undertones

I spent most of the past weekend in delicious anticipation.  Not for my birthday, which is coming up midweek.  Not for MLK Day (I actually had to work, and let me tell you, it was eerily quiet downtown today. But I digress).  No, I planned my weekend - grocery shopping, laundry, social life - around the Golden Globes.

The Globes have long been my favorite part of awards season for many of the same reasons they are looked down upon: the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and its inevitably surprising choices for nominees and winners; the hodgepodge of celebrities from television and film; the booze. Oh, the booze.

Of course, I am hardly the first to call attention to the Golden Globes' delightful informality, that schmoozy, gossipy high school reunion feel evoked by being dressed to the nines, seated according to social hierarchy and surrounded by friends, enemies, and alcohol.  This year, the Globes made no attempt to deny the party atmosphere and instead decided to embrace it.  The choice of Ricky Gervais as host, the copious scripted off-color jokes, Matt Damon's roast-style introduction of Robert DeNiro ... everything seemed to shout "see, we get it! We're the "fun" awards show! Don't you love this? Partaaaay!"

And then somehow it seemed to continue "My parents totally won't be home until ten o'clock, so we can get wild and crazy until then! ... Oh, but could you make sure and put a coaster on that table before you set down your beer?"  And just like that the party atmosphere was gone.

Adapt This Book: Dracula

Adaptations are tricky business, particularly when you tackle the classics. There's just no way to meet everyone's expectations. If you adhere too slavishly to the source material, you risk creating something turgid and lifeless; it's impossible to shoehorn in every part of the novel without having things drag on and on and on.

The other extreme, which I personally find far more frustrating, is the case of the writer who seems to have perhaps skimmed the text, then pillaged it for whatever bits and pieces he found most interesting, creating a largely new story and slapping on the old, well-known title.

Why, hello, Dracula.