Suspension of Belief

There are precious few movies that I have ever walked out of saying, "That was better than the book." When someone is cutting and trimming a book down to the 2 hours of a screenplay, plot elements are lost and characters become that much flatter. (The travesty called "The Golden Compass" anyone?) In general. But there are exceptions. "Jurassic Park" the movie is much better than the book - Michael Crichton doesn't heavily characterize *anyway*, and the story is so much more enjoyable without meandering chapters about the science of it all. Like, I get it - you did research. I, however, would like to read about the next guy to get gutted by a velociraptor. Besides, I liked Ian Malcolm, and I *know* he makes some miraculous recovery in "The Lost World", but how lame was his ending in the meantime?

Anyway, you ask anyone that knows me, and they'll probably know that one of my favorite movies is "The African Queen". Humphrey Bogart in his only Academy Award-winning role and Katherine Hepburn playing someone perfectly suited for her prim independence - what could be better?

So when I was meandering in Half-Price Books the other day and saw the novel by C.S. Forester on which the film was based, I was surprised at myself for never having read it. Something was nagging at me at the back of my mind (which turned about to be my mother's warnings from long ago), but I ignored it and started reading the quite-identical adventures of Charlie (yes, that's where my dog got his name) and Rosie. There are the Germans of WWI and the rapids and the insects and the really painful bit where they almost die in the reeds. Everything!

... Except the ending. For 17 chapters, Charlie and Rosie were the complete and utter focus of the book (save one that showed exactly how they managed to get past the German fort by switching to the German's point of view). Then, Forester decides that's boring - let's throw in some of the British that aren't supposed to be around, according to earlier bits of the book! And let's wrest the entire remainder of the narrative from the two main characters and have a sudden ending where the only thing resolved is the high level of the reader's mystification! What. The. Eff. It wasn't the "that's my favorite movie" part of me that rebelled - it just didn't make any narrative sense. Like Forester got tired at the end and decided he'd just turn *something* into his publisher, like it was a high school English paper.

"I'm so glad we got a better ending than the book, Rosie!"

No wonder the screenwriters changed the end. I'll take "slightly inconceivable" over "dumb ass" for my endings any day, thanks.

If you have a choice, get in front of the TV and watch it. You'll feel better. It's an awesome movie, and it's better than the book. I told the pup after I was done - "You're named after Humphrey Bogart's Academy Award-winning character, not the book's protagonist." I think he appreciated the difference.