Currently Reading - The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Hi my invisible readers!

Ever wonder why I call you invisible readers? Yes. Well, I also wonder. I am random like that. 

Anyhow, I am excited to bring you another review-- and this time it is  a book-to-movie one. Yaaay!

In case, you haven't seen it, you can read my original book review here. I am going to write this review in the same format as I usually do; however, I will add a difference between the book and the movie category. 

Summary/ What is this movie about: 

Unlike Howl's Moving Castle, the plot of the book and the movie are not worlds apart. So I don't necessarily have to re-write the summary. Nonetheless, if it helps, I linked the trailer at the beginning. Somehow, I cannot find a way to embed videos into the text of a normal post.  

What I liked: 

The tough part about a book-to-movie adaptation is that since you read the original source material, it is difficult to not focus on the elements that got lost during the transition. So, I have to push myself to abstract a little from the book. With that in mind, I truly enjoyed the movie! The dialogue was witty, fast-paced and funny; the characters were endearing and I am pretty sure that Pat's dad is 180% less asshole-y than in the book.  I was shocked when he actually uttered the words, "I want to spend time with you, Pat..." repeatedly. Completely different person. 

I also enjoyed the expansion on Danny's role. If you read my original post (if not, please click here), you will know that I found Danny's characterization very limited-- to the point that it might have been an attempt by Quick to appropriate ebonics. Danny in the movie is a full fledged, and if I may say, very quirky character. In fact, you could say that together with Tiffany and Pat (how great was Tiffany!!), they sorta formed a trio. And of course, I loved seeing Julia Stiles. 

What I didn't like:

There were a few differences between the book and the movie that made me sad. Most of them, I can ignore except for one thing -- the characterization of Cliff, the therapist, was much worse in the movie. In the book, Cliff is more than a therapist: he is a friend. In the movie, the bonding between Cliff and Pat happened much later than the book which is probably due to a key difference that I will discuss later. I just feel that creating strong, minority characters should not be a trade-off. Cliff the therapist doesn't need to be made even more secondary nor does Danny have to be reduced to an ebonics muppet. 

I also wish that they had kept the sibling relations between Pat and his brother. In the movie, the brother to brother connection is significantly watered down. Oh, and  I thought the end was too rom-commy.

What changed during the movie adaptation:

Here is a non-exhaustive list of changes between the book and the movie:

• The names of the characters changed: Peoples --> Solitano
• Secondary characters' roles in the storyline: Danny and Ronnie (Pat's best friend) become more important, Cliff and Pat's brother, Jake become less relevant to the story line.
• Pat's awareness of the legal conditions he faces, and the chronology of certain events. 
• Pat's mental illness
• The relationship between Pat and his dad
• The importance of American football as a means to connect emotionally. 

And many more things....

Final rating: Overall, I liked the movie and I would recommend it. I feel that perhaps I had given the book a really harsh rating; it probably deserved a four out of five stars. My apologies. Anyways, I feel that you would enjoy both the book and the movie. If you either read the book or watched the movie, please let me know in the comments below. 

That's it from me, xox. S

The Silver Linings Playbook: Review