Crazy in Alabama Reviewby Tim Wick

We don't do a lot of book reviews on this site (because no one sends us any!)) and even the book/movie club reviews are woefully behind. So why do I choose to write a review about a book and movie that aren't science fiction related, aren't being read/watched by the book/movie club and are pretty old to boot?

Simple, Crazy in Alabama is a very good book. The movie is crap. Given that many people I know are avid movie watchers, but probably wouldn't take the time to pick up a non science fiction/fantasy book, I'm guessing that watching this misguided piece of fluff would make them think that the book was equally awful.

But here are some facts about the differences between the book and the movie so you - the avid reader of MISFITS reviews - can make an informed decision:

1. The book is about having the courage and resolve to fight for what you believe in. The movie is about spousal abuse and doing the right thing. In the book, we see solid, painful results because one of the main characters chooses not to act in a way he believes to be right. He thinks he is doing the best thing for his family and for himself, but he is wrong. The results of that choice are devastating.

2. The movie stars Melanie Griffith's lips. The book does not. This is very important. I can only watch so many shots of Melanie Griffith's lips. Griffith's character, Lucille, is from Alabama and the book often refers to the accent she speaks in. They refer to this accent in the movie, but the accent I heard was a perfect replication of the accent she used in Working Girl and every other film she has been in. The only way we knew it was a southern accent was because other characters told us it was.

3. The movie is directed by Antonio Banderas. Given he is Griffith's husband, we can assume that has a lot to do with the repeated close ups of her lips (as if he doesn't see them enough). This was his directorial debut, and like many actors who turn director, it was all due to star power rather than actual skill behind the camera. He wanted to make a movie starring his wife. He should not have chosen such subtle source material.

4. The civil rights movement in the 60's wasn't pretty to watch. The book knows that. The death, pain, illegal imprisonment and showboating that were a part of the civil rights conflict in Alabama are completely absent from the film. An appearance by Martin Luther King uses soft, dreamlike filters so we know he is the savior. King was a great man, but he was most certainly a man - try shooting him like one. When violence breaks out in the movie, we don't see the gruesome reality (probably because they were going for a PG rating), we see flashes of sanitized reality.

5. Sex is an important tool of power in the book. But not in the movie. Again this must be a function of the PG rating, but the character of Lucille loses a great deal of her powerful center as a result. She uses sex as a tool to get what she wants and has no regrets about doing so. This character trait is abandoned in the film and it weakens the character.

6. The characters that are left out of the film are important. I don't want to give much away, but I have to say that I know you sometimes have to cut characters for a screenplay. Go and read the book and ask yourself how the movie would be if they cut Milton. It wouldn't be the same story, would it? My point exactly.

So here's my point - this is a brilliant book. The movie turns it into a banal morality tale that completely ignores the deeper, harsher morality tale of the source material.

So buy the book - or call me and I'll lend it to you. Feel free to skip the film. Let's try to keep Melanie Griffith out of work. It's better for all of us.

Crazy in Alabama: The Book

Four and a Half Beakers
(out of five)

Crazy in Alabama: The Movie

Zero Beakers
(out of five)