I’m going to twist this prompt into a bit of a pretzel with my answer. First of all though, to answer the question as it is, I guess I could say Pride and Prejudice is overrated. I read it in one of my college English classes and while it was a good book, I just didn’t fall madly in love with it like so many people have. I certainly didn’t like it enough to watch all of the movie adaptations. I don’t think I’ve seen even one. Fun fact…I was already a big fan of the movie “You’ve Got Mail” when I had to read the book and wouldn’t you know it, the language that Kathleen Kelly says she gets lost in, “words like ‘thither’, ‘mischance’, ‘felicity’”…none of those words are actually in the book. I had that movie pretty memorized when I read it so I was on the lookout for those words, and nope, not in there. But I digress.
Another book that may be overrated is Little Women. I read it for the first time a few years ago, and again, it was good, but it certainly didn’t capture my heart the way it did for some people I think.
But here’s where I’m going to bend the prompt. This book is neither a classic (yet) or overrated, however, the movie version of the book is. I’m talking about Project Hail Mary.
The book was wonderful! I really enjoyed reading it. My heart soared at the very end when Grace asked a question of his new students. I closed the book and almost literally sighed at how good it was.
Now, the movie on the other hand…
The movie was good, don’t get me wrong. We saw it in the theater where the sound was so good you could feel it in your seats. I don’t think the movie had the same effect on me though given that I had read the book first. The dramatic reveals and suspense building moments weren’t dramatic or suspenseful for me because I was expecting them.
Here’s the thing though, from what I have seen posted on Threads, people are obsessed with this movie! Now, I am certainly not criticizing anybody on being obsessed with any particular movie. Did you see my “You’ve Got Mail” reference above? But I just don’t feel the same obsession over this movie. So many posts were about the movie when it first came to theaters. Now I’m seeing a resurgence in references to the movie since it was released on streaming this week. People are even getting Rocky tattoos! Again, I’m not one to talk smack about tattoos and what people choose to get, the frog (Fred) on my leg riding a rhinoceros beetle, would agree.
My point is just that I don’t agree with the hype over the movie. I don’t know that I would go so far as to call it overrated, but I’m close. When the price to rent the movie comes down from $19.99, I will probably rent it so I can watch it again. In all fairness, the first time I watched “Hamilton” on Disney+, I had a “meh” reaction to it. But then I watched it a second time because the songs were catchy and now I’m obsessed (seeing it live next Saturday by the way).
I’ll give “Project Hail Mary” another shot. After all, Andy Weir’s other book-turned-movie, “The Martian”, is among my favorite movies. I think that one took a second viewing as well. These are good reasons to give it a second chance, but also, have I mentioned my affinity for Ryan Gosling?
Want to help me accomplish my dream of being a paid writer? Buy me a coffee!
Leave a Reply