The (Ugly) Truth About Movie Remakes

As a fan of movies, I am always a little bit skittish when it comes to the words "remake" or even worse, "reimagining." For those of you who are unfamiliar with these terms, a remake is generally a new version of an old movie. The "old" film could have originally been in black-and-white, color, or possibly foreign. Unfortunately, the majority of remakes fall way short of their predecessors. (I'll go on that rant in a later entry.)

Each year, we seem to be hit with more and more remakes. Take a look back at the last two, just for starters. This summer alone there's "The Longest Yard," "The Bad News Bears," "War of the Worlds," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Herbie," "The Fog..." and so on. Do all of these remakes mean that writers are out of ideas? Is Hollywood afraid to take a chance on something new? Or is it the sincerest form of flattery, as some film students might argue.

We recently took the the girls to see a remake that I was actually quite excited about, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Instead of reviewing that film here (although I will say, I loved it, but the original will always be in my top 10 movies of all time list---I was three when I first saw it!), I had an enlightening experience during the previews.

Amongst many forgettable trailers, we saw one for yet another version of "Pride and Prejudice." If you don't remember the classic Jane Austen novel, it's worth a read. But honestly, this movie has already been visited several times, with the best one being the 1940 original. As I sighed, rather loudly, and thought how dreadful it was, Hannah leaned over to me and asked, "Can we see this one, Mommy? It has Kiera Knightly from Pirates in it!" In a flash, it all started to make sense to me.

In 2005, when most 8 and 9 year old girls are begging their parents to see "Herbie: Fully Loaded," mine are thinking that "Pride and Prejudice" looks pretty cool. I could have never talked them into sitting through the B&W original one. But now they could watch the same story with an actress they know and like, possibly igniting a passion for other versions of the same film. Or better yet, maybe even reading the novel one day. If nothing else, they would be seeing something that wasn't just "brain candy" kiddie fare.

So, are remakes evil and bad, the downfall of modern filmmaking? Probably not. But I'd stay away from "Psycho (1998)," "The Truth About Charlie" and "The Stepford Wives (2004)" if I were you.

An Italian Story

TOMATO GARDEN

An old Italian man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Vincent, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me. Love, Pop

A few days later he received a letter from his son. Dear Pop, Not for nothing, but don't dig up that garden. That's where I buried the BODIES. Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left . That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Pop, Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances. Love, Vinnie

(Oh, how I wish that I could say this was an original post, but sadly it's not. This was sent to me by a dear friend and I thought it was too good to not share.)

Camp week

I have never been away to camp. As a child, it was something that I always wanted to do. It seemed like every one of my friends got to go away to camp each summer while I was left behind. My dad just wouldn't hear of it. It went down the same way, year after year. I would come home begging to go, and my mom would ask to look at the brochure, appear very interested and then say, "Go ask your father." That was it. When you heard those words you knew your fate was sealed. "Go to some strange place? Stay in some strange bed? Be away from your family? Be out in the wilderness? What are you-crazy?" And then it was over; just like that.

Now, some could argue that I wouldn't have survived it as a "camp kid." And they might be right. I was an only child and had never been without my parents or family. I don't do bugs real well. I'm (still) afraid of the dark. I might've been one those who cries themselves to sleep each night, aching with homesickness. Who knows? So when the opportunity came up to finally live out one of my (many) childhood dreams, I seized it.

Hannah was thrilled of the idea of heading off to summer camp. "Can I go, please, please, please?" she asked at the end of church one night. I looked at Eva and asked, "Do you want to go to summer camp?" "I don't know. Can you come with me?" she said. Hmmm. Go with you? I hadn't even thought of it. I guess I could. Our children's pastor was just saying that he still needed a few counselors. Okay. Sign me up. So it was that simple that I became one of the adult counselors.

Packing was quite intimidating. Flashlights, insect repellent, towels, soap, sheets, sleeping bags, pillows, an oscillating fan, etc. The list went on for a while. Keep in mind...I had to do this for three individuals. I realized that I had bitten off a bit more than I could chew. We had only gotten back from our San Francisco trip on the 5th. We had to be all set for this trip by the 11th. Not a whole lot of turn-around time. After a few late nights, I managed to get it altogether. The next thing I knew, we were saying our good-byes to Rob and pulling out of the church parking lot.

I ended up being the counselor for a group of 8 ten and eleven year-old girls; none of whom knew me. That was a challenge in intself, but a "growing" experience all the same. I was blessed to be in rooms right next door to Hannah and Eva, so I could see them virtually anytime. Their counselor was a friend of mine and someone that I both admire and respect. I knew that they were in good hands. Overall, the week went well. The girls had a BLAST! They were able to stretch their wings somewhat and feel more independent. I was able to live out the "camp dream" that I had been embellishing in my mind for over 20 years. I got to know some friends from church a little better. I was emotionally challenged, but spiritually renewed.

Hannah can't wait to go next year. She's already thinking about what electives she'll pick. Eva isn't quite as ready to sign-up again. She says she had fun, wants to go again, but...she would really prefer if I go. It's too soon for me to even think about it. On second thought, five days alone with my husband sounds pretty darn nice!

Patti says: "I refuse to BLOG!!!!"