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Reviews
Of Mice and Men (1992)
Did Gary Sinise write the book?
Did Gary Sinise write the book?
No. Of course he didn't. But as director and actor, he pulled off a masterpiece with this movie.
I have only one criticism: as good an actor as John Malkovich is, he's not Lenny Small. My choice for the role, and there's only one, would have been Bill Fagerbakke (Tom Cullen, in Stephen King's "The Stand" [and most recently the voice of Patrick, in Spongebob Squarepants]).
But that's minor. Gary Sinise did Steinbeck justice. He had the real handle on the story, took George and made him visible.
It's one of the few books-turned-into-movies that stands as an equal to the original. View it. And view it again.
Cannery Row (1982)
Not the book, but well worth a few views
The one author whose writing I consistently enjoy reading is John Steinbeck.
Cannery Row is my favorite of his stories. I've read my way through one paperback and am now preserving my second. His short novel "Sweet Thursday" is as much of a sequel to Cannery Row as it's possible to be.
The only non-paper version of the tale that I rate at least as highly as the book is the audio version, narrated by Jerry Farden. If the book is a 10, Jerry's reading is a 15. It's difficult to track down, though. If you want a real treat for your ears and your mind, get it.
Back to the movie. It's difficult to appreciate a film when you've read the book beforehand. And vice versa. So when I borrowed the VHS a few years ago, I had plenty of preconceptions, and some eager anticipation. It didn't take long for my preconceptions to shatter the anticipation.
This movie is NOT Cannery Row, but a mix of parts of it and Sweet Thursday.
I could easily be critical of it... Nick Nolte is much too much of a Man, and does not fit my mental image of Ed Ricketts at all. Debra Winger fits, more or less. The mix of two books changed the whole pace of the story, and spoiled it wholesale. There were bright spots, but tainted with those same old preconceptions.
So, don't expect to see a visual equivalent of the books, because it isn't. I don't go along with those who say that it's not worth watching. It's different than the book, and sometimes that can be hard to work through.
But, standing apart from the books, the movie is good. Darn good. It is well worth at least two viewings. And, I think, the more it's viewed, the better it gets.