Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Love the book AND the movie

Last night I went to see The Secret Life of Bees with my Mom. We both loved the book (so much so that I've read it 3 times), so we were excited to see the movie version.

I was a little bit nervous about seeing it, though. I hate it when you love the book and then they make it into a movie and totally butcher the plot, the characters, etc. It's always such a let down. To me, the Harry Potter movies (excluding the 5th) are a bit like that. They're never as good as the books. Not even close. The third book was my absolute favorite. The third movie? A total disappointment.I hated it. So I was hoping The Secret Life of Bees wouldn't follow in those footsteps.

Luckily, it didn't. The movie was absolutely amazing. It was almost exactly like the book. There were a few minor changes, but nothing that changed the plot or characters. And it was wonderfully cast. Dakota Fanning was perfect at Lily Owens. Her acting was outstanding. It's amazing to me that at 14-years-old, she is that great of an actress. She brought the character to life...I laughed with her and cried with her...and then cried some more with her. I love Dakota Fanning now.

The Boatwright women were also perfectly cast. Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okeonedo were amazing in their roles. They were EXACTLY like I pictured August, June and May when I read the book. And Jennifer Hudson did a wonderful job as Rosaleen. I think the other women outshone her a bit, but she still did an excellent job.

It was a fabulous movie. Definitely go see it. It's not some mindless chick flick (though I love those)...it's a beautiful, heart-wrenching coming of age story. And I loved every minute. I just hope Shopaholic (one of my other favorites) is just as good as a movie as The Secret Life of Bees was. I guess we'll see soon...

Ok seriously, I have to go read more of the Twilight series now...it's like a drug. And I am so addicted.

3 comments:

thatShortchick said...

i can't wait to see it! unfortunately, the way my schoolwork is slowly taking over my free time, I may have to wait till it comes on DVD :-(

but i'm glad to hear you think it held up well against the book version.

Anonymous said...

I really want to see this. I love the book. Jennifer Hudson is just maddening to me. I hated her in SATC and feel like she is going to ruin this too!

P said...

I didn't even know they were making a movie of that book, it sounds interesting though!