It just does not do Teen literature any benefit to make a well-loved book by a well-loved author into a poor film.
It is so disheartening to see the reviews of Paper Towns as mixed as they appear at Rotten Tomatoes. So many great teen reads are being turned into movies these days, but the result has not been all that great.
When one of our favorite titles is announced as an upcoming film, the anticipation is high. We watch for the casting, check out the trailers and wait for the opening. Personally, I wait for the reviews.
We all know the book is almost always better than the film, but that has to do with the inability for the film-makers to put all of the story into 2-3 hours and still do justice to the movie our heads created while reading the book. Yes, film is a separate art form and it should be judged on its own merits and not compared to the original. But, the purpose of the film is to capture the essence of the book.
Too often the objective of the film-maker is to jump on the YA bandwagon and make some money from a popular author and/or title. Seriously, don't do the author any favors. If you can't take a teen title seriously and present a well-made film, please leave the audience to remember the book as they saw it in their mind's eye.
Some of the reviews are good, however. Should I see the film? Have you seen it? Are the critics too harsh? Or, did the film-makers take a great thing and make it so, so?
Let me know your thoughts....
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