The Fans Weigh In
It's that time again, to check in with two of our fave fans, Suz and Wym, to see what they thought of last night's premiere of "Blue Smoke."
Suz's initial thoughts? "Wow! Bitchin’ opening of “Blue Smoke!” Can I say "bitchin" on Lifetime?" (Hey…why not!) "Such a visually grabbing beginning. I like the fire in slow motion with Reena’s voice over. The cadence of her voice flows with the dancing flames. It’s almost hypnotic."
The cast seemed to go over well with the ladies. "I liked Alicia Witt and Matthew Settle and thought they gave solid performances," says Wym. "I am sorry we didn't get to see more of Talia Shire or Scott Bakula who always light up the screen even in small snippets. But I'm not sorry that we didn't see more of Christopher Fassbender—he was creepy enough in small doses, thank you very much!" Suz was also happy with the talent, but "while Alicia Witt captured certain characteristics of Reena Hale, I also felt she was a little weak in grasping the essence of the character. Reena was a little more “kick-ass” confident and self-assured than Ms. Witt portrayed her."
"I thought the flashbacks and her memories of the Sirico’s fire that Reena experiences as she struggles through the fire academy test was a great technique to use," says Suz. "Listening to Reena’s commentary you can sense her embrace the fire; you feel her passion, her love, her fear and her respect all intermingling with one another." Wym wished there was more time for even more family moments at the restaurant. "This story is very much about family - the drama and humor and love that are at its center. Though we don't experience that as much in the movie as the book, it still didn't detract from the flow of the story."
"While it’s difficult to not compare the book with the movie, “Blue Smoke” can definitely stand on its own," says Suz. "The book is the book and the movie is the movie. You’re always going to get more depth from a novel, and I think the Lifetime movies are doing a wonderful job of capturing the heart of Nora’s novels."
Wym is hoping that after people watch the movie, they'll run out and buy the book "knowing that in four hundred plus pages there will be many more layers to the characters and story than a two hour movie could reveal."
With a nod to Suz's champagne glasses, Wym gives "Blue Smoke" six out of eight delicious slices of a Sirico's Pizza. =)
Kudos to Suz and Wym for taking on a very difficult task--reviewing movies based on books that they've already read. I think it's very challenging to separate out the two--and both ladies have done a fine job.
For the most part, the adaptation of BLUE SMOKE worked extremely well for me. The beginning was hugely dramatic--sucked me right in. I thought they did an excellent job capturing the past via the flashbacks.
Probably one of the most difficult aspects of the story was capturing Bo's "love at first sight" moment of Reena--and all the near misses he had over the years before he finally met her face-to-face over the backyard fence.
Although the famous "dream girl" phrase was never uttered--much to the dismay of many ADWOFFers--the scene was every bit what I captured from reading it.
I *think* -- I *hope* that CAROLINA MOON translates well ... 88 minutes of air time is so, so short!
~Sue, adwoff.com
Posted by: Sue | Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 09:35 AM
I also think that Suz and Wym have undertaken a very difficult task. How does one watch a movie based a great book that you have read and not compare it to the book completely? Very difficult to remain objective. Nora writes great stories that have given people hundreds of hours of enjoyment. Many people have read her books so many times that they can quote it word for word. There is no way a movie can every live up to the expectations of devote readers. That said, I think that Blue Smoke did justice to Nora's book. Was it the exact story in the book? No, and nor could it be. Everybody who reads a book sees the characters differently. Some readers enjoy the relationships, some prefer the action. With Nora's books we are lucky enough to have both so well written that they blend together. When adapting a book for a movie, that will be less then 2 hours in length, how do they decided which aspect to show more of? Somethings have to be cut out, and other things changed in order to keep the story flowing. Blue Smoke did just that. From the opening scene it just grabbed me. It showed just enough of the family relationships that the viewer knew this was a close family. The flash backs worked wonderfully to show what shaped Reena into who she is. Of the three movies shown so far, I feel that this has been the best. A viewer could follow this movie without having read the book. It stands on its own. Has Suz stated, the book is the book, and the movie is the movie.
Posted by: Shawn | Thursday, February 15, 2007 at 05:28 PM