I really, really wanted to like this movie.
See, I’ve read Gerrold’s book, and it’s very good: Sweet, hurting, reminiscent, cute.
I knew, before seeing the film, that a major component had been compromised. I figured, okay, well, how bad could it be?
I forgot that major compromises and minor ones tend to interdigitate.
This movie just didn’t know what it was about. Was it SF? Fantasy? Based in real life? Gerrold’s book, while as unclearly anchored in a few ways, at least managed to tell the story and maintain a deep coherent purpose.
I want to talk more about this but I’m still assimilating how badly, terribly wrong the movie was. How deeply and totally it swerved away from everything important in the novel it was based on.
Give me a day or two to digest this one. Even by my standards, it’s an incredibly dyspeptic lump to handle.
Meanwhile, if you’ve read the book and want to see the movie: Stop with the book.
Please.
