Something Borrowed movie adaptation

Something Borrowed, an adaptation of Emily Giffin's fabulous and bestselling novel, comes out this Friday - but I can't decide if I'm enthused. I like this book so much that I've read it twice. But I can't figure out my feelings toward this movie (and I was spot on with my Eat, Pray, Love assessment). Watch the trailer and then we'll discuss:



As seen, Something Borrowed is the tale of the love triangle between mousy lawyer Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin), her best friend Darcy (ugh, Kate Hudson), and the man they both want, Dex (Colin Egglesfield). The trailer implies that the movie stays true to the book's events except in one major regard: Ethan. In the book, the action pretty much revolves around Rachel, Darcy, and Dex, which makes sense (the triangle is perfection in art, no?) and keeps things focused. I realize promoting Ethan to a major force here was a chance for the filmmakers to cast another hot young actor, the always hilarious John Krasinki, and appeal to the ladies. But it strikes me as a distraction, this fourth big character - and sort of effs up the sequel, when Darcy has to flee to him at his home in London. (And no, it ain't London, Connecticut.)

Thoughts?

Update on 6/5: So I've seen the movie now. It wasn't the greatest movie ever made but probably didn't deserve the critical thrashing either. But in regards to Ethan, I think they forced it - they moved him eventually but it felt forced.

#6 and #7: Room and Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (meh)

I read Emma Donoghue's Room and Rhoda Janzen's Mennonite in a Little Black Dress back-to-back in February. Both books had gotten good word of mouth but personally, I wasn't really into either of them (which is perhaps why I put off blogging about them). Warning: A few spoilers in the next paragraph.

Room is the story of a little boy named Jack and his mom, who if I recall correctly never gets a name. Jack is this really happy-go-lucky little kid with boundless enthusiasm for the world - except that he doesn't realize the "world" is a little room, because Jack's mom was kidnapped by a guy they call Old Nick, who keeps them prisoner in a garden shed. To five-year-old Jack, his world is amazing, which we hear as he (torturously) baby-talks his narration; his mom just wants to escape. And eventually they do (too easily, I thought) and Jack and his mother go through all kinds of readjustment issues. And I know I was supposed to think it profound, the contrast in perception and happiness and fear, but I just didn't feel it. (Apparently most Amazon readers did - it has 475 five-star reviews.) Which was too bad - I really enjoyed Donoghue's Slammerkin, a novel that could not be more different in subject or tone, which I read in 2008.

I started Mennonite in a Little Black Dress back in November and put it down probably six times to read other things. In theory, the memoir is about the author's discovery that her husband is gay, quickly followed by a terrible car wreck, which causes her to flee for her parents' home to recuperate. Except that she grew up Mennonite, so she has to go from being big-city sinful back to innocence-ish religious ways - which is supposed to provide much comic fodder and the heart of the book. But in truth, I never really caught onto the storyline because it really jumped around (and admittedly, my lack of attention didn't help) - it was hard to keep up with the chronology and minor characters, like the brothers and sisters-in-law, who weren't well fleshed out. Despite the premise, I don't think I learned anything significant about the Mennonites - in fact, I'm not sure what the book was really about. In the end, it seemed to be more about relating individual witty anecdotes (which were individually funny) but as a whole, I don't think the memoir came together. It simply lacked an overarching story.

So that was my February reading, fairly disappointing...which is perhaps why I didn't finish another book until the beginning of April. :(