Comments on: Nancy Drew

By: Kate S.

Kate S. — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:36:42 +0000

I didn’t warm to the trailers and so was a bit worried that they’d made a hash of the adaptation. So it’s a great relief to hear that the movie stands up for a Nancy Drew fan of roughly my vintage! It’s going back on my list of movies to see this summer…

By: bw-hubby

bw-hubby — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:42:04 +0000

I too, read (more than) a few Nancy Drew / Hardy Boy mysteries. I can’t now remember if it occured to me then, but the way teens matched wits with adults–and won (always)!–seems part of their charm.

Of course, that’s central to children’s literature, isn’t it? That the underdog kid(s) win somehow–and the powerful, mean stepmother/witch is melted/smooshed by a mill stone/hauled away in cuffs, with always some last words along the lines of “I would have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for those darn kids!”

But another thought: though I haven’t seen the ND movie (I think that outing happened while I was grading finals) it sounds like yet another well-done movie adaptation of a book. I remember when the Little House on the Prarie TV show began, being outraged by the ‘liberties’ taken with adapting it. (Sorry–I can’t remember what they were now.) I’m glad the movie-mogul powers-that-be are seeing more $$$ in careful, accurate adaptations. There’s a sort of integrity and respect in such productions–even if it is driven by $$$.

And to bring politics into it: I surfed over to ‘Bookworm’ from my political blogs so such adaptations’ integrity is a welcome relief to what our national leaders daily demonstrate.

What a different world it would be if political leaders had to demonstrate an awareness of integrity in some related manner: compare and contrast two book-to-movie adaptations, explaining how each showed respect for the original works. Or maybe, in addition to answering debate questions, doing an interpretive dance showing their understanding of a work of literature, and truthfully conveying its meaning (it’s hard to lie with body language, yes?). Would we let them choose which book to perform, or would it be assigned/drawn from a hat?

Okay, maybe the last idea isn’t quite what we need to see in our leaders–but it seems a good place to stop for now.

–Hubby

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 12:36:28 +0000

Heh, Sharon, you’re a deep old file. ;)

By: Sharon

Sharon — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:33:21 +0000

I see the dear Dr. Maturin as a fellow inquisitive, with whom I would enjoy a hearty rummage through the natural world as much as I would enjoy a glass of wine with him. Does Captain Aubrey say that the good Doctor spends too much time gazing at a bird’s nest? That’s because I let him, whilst I examine the way water flows over rocks in a stream. I led him there! I know, I know…wanton hussy that I am…

No wonder the Captain will never ask me to dance.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:23:04 +0000

Welcome, Sharon! I agree ten POB entries isn’t nearly enough, but I keep imagining people rolling their eyes (“there she goes again”) whenever I bring up the topic, the creatures. I keep telling ‘em the books only seem to be about naval battles; actually they’re about music, friendship, and manners. With, as you say, lots of sly humor thrown in. And tell me you don’t have an equally heart-thumping crush on a certain pale-eyed polyglot lubber of a surgeon…

And all y’all, if you go see the ND movie I hope you’ll post about it, or come back here and leave another comment. :)