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Top 10 Worst Book Adaptation Flops
Not every book is made for the big screen. Here are just ten examples of this to prove my point.
10. Cosmopolis
David Cronenberg has been able to adapt some of the most difficult novels, such as Crash and Nakeed Lunch, into movies on multiple occasions in the past. Unfortunately, he was not able to do it with DonDeLillo’s Cosmpolis. The story is an allegory and is about a 28 year old billionaire who is travelling throughout downtown to get ha haircut in his limousine…that’s the entire story. The story was pretty dry and shallow and was treated as cold and snarky in the movie theatres. Roger Ebert, who liked the book, was not a big fan of the adaptation.
9. Ella Enchanted (2004)
The movie was based on Gail Carson Levine’s novel of the same name, written in 1997. The film starred Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy. The film was beloved by children and adults alike; however, the problem many had with it is its originality. The film did not pick up very well because it all felt too familiar. No one needed a new spin to Cinderella and the singing was too much for some. The references to popular culture were also unnecessary.
8. Breakfast of Champions (1999)
I view Kurt Vonnegut as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. One would think that because he is so popular, movies based on his books would be the same. Unfortunately, his stories have been very hard to adapt most because they were too dark, dry and spoken from a unique and often described as absurd voice. This is the prime example. It was labelled by film critics as “unwatchable”.
7. The Great Gatsby (2013)
The book is one of the most beloved by all literary types, including school children. It explores the American Dream and gives a view of life in the 1920s. The film, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, was highly inaccurate and received a highly critical rating. As a history major, I can honestly say that what was seen in the movies was not what happened in reality.
6. The Scarlet Letter (1995)
One of great classic novels to have been adapted over 10 time, but only the 1995 version was the worst, receiving Worst Screen Couple (“For Demi Moore and either Robert Duvall or Gary Oldman”) award and a Win for Worst Remake or Sequel award. And that much discussed ending? This is what Demi Moore had to say about it: “”In truth, not very many people have read the book. The ultimate message of Hester Prynne would have been lost if we’d stayed with the original ending.” Not worth renting or seeing.
5. John Carter (2012)
Everyone was quick to dub John Carter as flop before it even came out in 2012, and though it would tank, it lost less money than some of the other films on this list and it actually received mixed reviews. It’s hard to justify the $250 million dollar budget, and while it was trying to capture the same adventure feel of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, it ended up being compared to the worst aspects of Prince of Persia, The Phantom Menace, and Cowboys & Aliens. Yeah, I forgot aboutCowboys & Aliens, too.
4. Love in the Time of Cholera
The film was based on the novel written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1985) and follows the life of 2characters that are quite opposite of one another, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza. Both charactersfall in love during youth, but Fermina decides to marry a rich man. The devastated Florentino falls out of love and instead sleeps with 622 women. When Fermina’s husband dies 50 years later, Florentino decides to rekinkle the relationship. What was present in the book and not in the movie was Marquez’s writing and his perspective on sex, love and devastation. The non-linear plot presented challenges that the movie was not able to fix.
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