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FRIDAY FLICK: 13 Going On 30

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you woke up to find you were a teenager again? I expect we all have. (For some of us, yes, it's an excruciating nightmare, but I suspect revisiting school and ohmigod-I-used-to-wear-THAT hysteria would be a laugh for others, yes?) However, I expect the majority would cower in fear if we were to find we'd miraculously gone forward in time...to find ourselves a good few years older.

Which is what happens to thirteen-year-old Jenna in this 2004 romantic comedy. Ohhh Lordy...

Dorky Jenna (Jennifer Garner) is 13, and after being constantly teased by girls at school, wishes she was older. After playing a party game and getting locked in a closet by her cruel peers, Jenna awakens to discover that she's not herself anymore. Gone are her childlike looks, and even her home...in fact, she's woken up in a very nice Manhattan apartment that just so happens to be her own.

Yep, Jenna has left the eighties behind and is now a successful, highly attractive 30-year-old who works on a glossy magazine. What's more, she seems to have a very handsome hockey-player boyfriend who she finds in her shower.

Not knowing what's happened, Jenna realises that she has to live her life as an adult - though still being a gum-chewing, music loving 13-year-old inside. Things become difficult at work, especially when her school 'friend' is out to bag a promotion that Jenna's also in line for. Jenna's teenage admirer, Matt (Mark Ruffalo), is also back in her life - but sadly, he's engaged.

Jenna has no idea what happened in the previous years, and how she ended up as she did. And so Jenna has to love her life as a thirty-something, trying to piece together what happened in her life since that day in the 1980s, as well as deal with her love life, career and other adult things that she had not even considered before.

For those who loved Big and Freaky Friday, this is a fantastic movie that's both hilarious and refreshing at the same time. Jennifer Garner plays adult Jenna brilliantly, Definitely worth a watch (but thank goodness it's only fiction...)

Friday Flick archives.

Friday Flick: My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Seeing as it's Valentines Day tomorrow, it's usually time for those lovey-dovey romantic movies to do the rounds. So instead, I'm going to give you something different. (Okay, so it's kind of about love. But anyway).

Being a fan of the superhero genre (speaking of which, did you read the news about Batwoman?), My Super Ex Girlfriend really appealed to me. And I wasn't disappointed, either.

By day, Jenny Johnson (Uma Thurman) is a quiet, artsy brunette. By night, however, Jenny is someone completely different - she's G-Girl, the blonde, powerful and feisty superheroine who saves the city on a daily basis with her amazing powers (and super-tight costume). When she meets the handsome Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson), it doesn't take her long to start falling for him, even if she is a bit needy when it comes to relationships.

Of course, Jenny soon tells him the truth about her alter-ego and abilities, making him swear not to tell anyone. Ever.

Unfortunately for Jenny, Matt doesn't feel the same about where the relationship is heading. In fact, he's fallen for pretty colleague Hannah. So the only thing to do is let G-Girl down gently. Sadly, that's not so easy...

Jenny's fiery and needy personality soon brings her to boiling point when she finally gets dumped. But dumping a superhero isn't always a wise idea. After all, with superhuman powers, what else is a spurned lover with amazing strength, an awful temper and the ability to fly going to do?

Make her ex-boyfriend's life a living hell, of course.

The potential bunny-boiler G-Girl is putting her powers to good use by refusing to leave Matt alone, even though he's in love with Hannah. And bringing Hannah into the equation would certainly be a bad idea, right?

Fearing that his ex is going to actually kill him, Matt sets out to avoid her. Or at least, get Jenny out of his life for good. Meanwhile, Professor Bedlam (Eddie Izzard) is out to get hold of G-Girl in order to gain her powers for himself.

If you like superhero films, this is a cute, funny addition to those already out there, giving the genre a bit of romantic fun. Admittedly, it can get a bit silly at times, but the plot and G-Girl'shilarious antics kept me hooked. It's the perfect film for a night in, maybe even for the guys out there, too!

FRIDAY FLICK: Affinity

Now, I don’t know about you, but Christmas for me is all about Gothic romance.

Whether I’m curled up with a collection of Victorian ghost stories while the fog rolls outside my window, or plumped on the sofa, stuffed with cherry liqueurs, watching Mark Gatiss’ excellent Crooked House mini-series, “eldritch” and “half-glimpsed” are the buzzwords of the day.

And it was with this festive spine-tingly anticipation that I tuned into Affinity, ITV1’s adaptation of Sarah Waters’ second novel. 

Like previous TV adaptations of Waters' novels Fingersmith and Tipping the Velvet, Affinity is set in Victorian London and has a female protagonist.  Affinity's main character is Margaret Prior, played with a skilful nervy sensuality by Anna Madeley.

Margaret is an educated young woman with her own opinions and a quick mind.  She has recently lost her father and isn’t as keen on marrying as her family would like. To occupy herself, Margaret becomes a “lady visitor” to Millbank prison, talking to the female prisoners and generally giving them something to aspire to with her neat little hats and general moral uprightery.

But Margaret is quickly drawn to one prisoner in particular – notorious “spirit medium” Selena Dawes (played by Zoe Tapper), who is serving time for killing a young girl during a séance.  The prison is a bleak, stony place but somehow Selena has procured some wild flowers – she tells Margaret that the “spirits” brought them to her.

As Margaret becomes more involved with Selena, we are shown flashes of both their histories.  Margaret is so averse to marriage because she is in fact in love with a woman – once her lover, now her sister-in-law, and we learn that Selena is perhaps more opportunistic than the whispering ingénue Margaret believes her to be.

Margaret soon comes to believe that Selena is innocent of her crime (Selena puts the blame squarely on her “spirit guide”, Peter Quick) and moreover that she and Selena are soulmates.  With a lot of help from Selena – and possibly denizens of the spirit world – the story winds to its conclusion with plenty of whispered promises and bumps in the night on the way.

I really enjoyed the novel and one thing I think was missing from this adaptation is Margaret’s sparse, poetical narration.  But, apart from the hands being played a little too early,  this is a brilliantly atmospheric version, well-played, subtle, and best of all – spooky.

Affinity is now available to buy and rent on DVD.

FRIDAY FLICK: Twilight

The film adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s teen vampire romance novel, Twilight, has been out in cinemas for a while now, but I've been dragging my heels about seeing it. 

I was strangely reluctant to even read Twilight (although I’ve no idea why – given that I was more than happy to follow the adventures of one boy wizard for a decade), but I’m so glad I did.  The book is beautifully, dreamily written and I was instantly hooked.

You see, the real reason I was wary of the film is because I’m now reading Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the series, and I didn’t want the complex emotional world that Meyer had created in my head to be toppled by a dumbed-down, effects-laden Hollywood version.

Happily, Twilight isn’t like this at all.  It begins with the teenage Bella narrating, just as she does in the book, “I had never given much thought to how I would die....”, as she leaves her scatty mother in hot, dusty Phoenix, and travels to the permanently-overcast town of Forks to live with her father.

Kristen Stewart, with her haunted good looks and wry delivery, is a pitch-perfect Bella – shy, brainy and perhaps more mature than her parents.  There’s a slight cinema verité element to everything – all the dialogue and interactions feel very realistic, from Bella’s gruff reunion with her equally awkward father, to  the various jolts and discomforts of starting at a new school.

But a contrasting romantic atmosphere takes over when Bella meets the pale, enigmatic Edward (again, played to perfection by Robert Pattinson) who compounds Bella’s discomfort by seeming to think that she smells bad.

But when Edward moves at impossible speed to physically stop a van from ploughing into Bella, she decides she needs to know more.  Despite Edward’s warnings that Bella should stay away from him, he’s equally drawn to her. 

Which is when Edward confesses that he’s a vampire – one of a family of vampires who have all taken an oath to avoid human blood. Bella falls for Edward, and you can see why.  The boy can really smoulder (which I noticed despite Pattinson being several millennia my junior...). 

But since Edward thirsts uniquely for Bella’s blood – “you’re like my own personal heroin supply”, he tells Bella - can it ever really be safe to love a vampire?

Twilight is directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who brings her indie documentary-style realism from her previous films Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, balancing it perfectly with the romance and suspense of the love story and supernatural aspects.  And it's so refreshing to see a novel adaptation that neither ignores the plot nor hamstrings itself by following the novel too faithfully.

There are a few really nice moments - at one point, Edward catches an apple Bella has dropped in lovely reflection of the cover of Meyer's book. Also, there's a scene where he plays piano - an irrational movie pet-hate of mine is when the actor clearly can't play and is just miming, but Pattinson actually plays - in fact he composed some of the music for the film.

All in all I thought it was fantastic, and I’m excited now that Meyer’s second novel in the series, New Moon, is currently in production with both leads on board.  It’s a great compliment to them that I didn’t for a minute think of Kristen Stewart as “the daughter from Panic Room” or Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory, because I’m usually such a film nerd.  In fact, I even forgot Pattinson was English. 

I left the cinema on a blissful cloud of gothic romance.  I asked the friend I’d dragged along what she’d thought of it.  She hadn’t read the book, and a lot of her motivation for accompanying me was around the sweets I’d bribed her with.

“Well,” she said.  “It is really a movie for fifteen year old girls.  But I loved it, because I’m a fifteen year old girl at heart.  Aren’t we all?”

My thoughts exactly.

FRIDAY FLICK: The Notebook

Adapted from the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook was actually one of those films that had fallen under my radar until I wrote recently about another Sparks novel going into production.

Staring Rachel McAdams as Allie and Ryan Gosling as Noah The Notebook is a simple love story.

The film starts in a nursing home where an elderly man is reading aloud from a notebook to an elderly woman. It turns out this woman is Allie and she has senile dementia. In the notebook is the preserved love story of how Noah and Allie met and we are transported back to the 1940s to see it for ourselves.

Allie is a rich girl who initially thinks Noah, a poor boy, is a bit of an idiot. But he pursues her and eventually they are inseparable. Her parents disapprove and eventually they move away.

Although I wasn't hooked immediately by about twenty minutes into the film I definitely was. Ryan and Rachel give great performances as the lead characters. The film is charming, romantic and has some beautiful scenes. It was also extremely emotional and I was happily blubbering away by the end.

Well recommended. Check out the trailer here.

Friday Flick Archives

FRIDAY FLICK: Tipping The Velvet

When writing about Sarah Waters and her new novel earlier this week, I was reminded that I still hadn't watched the BBC adaptation of Tipping The Velvet which I had bought ages ago. Needing to put my feet up for a bit, I thought the DVD provided the perfect opportunity.

I remember the controversy the programme created when it was first aired but for some reason or another (I think I was planning my wedding) I didn't watch it. I loved the novel however and was hoping the adaptation would be just as good.

In Victorian England, Nan Astley (the mesmerising Rachael Stirling) lives in Whitstable working in an oyster restaurant with her parents. When Kitty (Keeley Hawes), a music hall entertainer, comes to town Nan goes to watch her performance every night. She goes on to become her dresser and when Kitty moves to London, Nan goes with her. They become a double act and are extremely popular. For six months Nan is happy. Then she returns back to the lodgings she shares with Kitty a day early after seeing her parents, and everything falls apart.

Nan is forced to the streets and goes to extreme measures to survive. Eventually she is picked up by Diana Leatherby and so begins her life as an employed "tart".

If you have read the book (which I urge you to do before you watch the adaptation) you will know that this is a lesbian love story. But as with all of Sarah Waters' books and subsequently this adaptation, it is much more than that. There is the romance, which builds up beautifully, so when the sex scenes arrive they are very tasteful. Then there is Nan's emotional and physical journey. Rachael Stirling is endearing in her portrayal as Nan.

In fact, all the actors and actresses play their parts very well, as you might expect from a BBC adaptation. The scriptwriters, directors and producers have all got it spot on, so even the bit parts given to the likes of JohnnyVegas show a great eye for detail.

I would also like to mention Anna Chancellor who plays Diana Leatherby. She was fantastic. (I was wondering where I'd seen her before but then I realised she was Duckface in Four Weddings).

In all a brilliant adaptation. Well worth waiting for. I loved the scenery, the music, the visual metaphors. The way they interpreted the book, to me, had Sarah Waters all over it.

Friday Flick Archives

TUESDAY FLICK: Lipstick Jungle

It seems that we have been talking about Lipstick Jungle, like, forever, and finally, finally, last night it came to the screens of the UK public (or to those who get Living TV anyway).

So. Was it worth the wait?

Well, it was entertaining. It featured three strong(ish) females with high powered jobs. But. It is probably unfair of me to do this, I can't help but compare it to Candace Bushnell's other creation. Sex and The City.

Lipstick Jungle is about three women. Wendy (Brooke Shields) has it all - on her plate. She is trying to balance family life (two children) with her husband, friends and her high powered job as a movie executive. Nico (Kim Raver) has a boring husband who is into books (what is wrong with that?!), a male rival at work (obviously), a (male) boss who tells her if she has children she'll lose focus and she complicates things by falling for a Hot Guy. Then there is Victory Ford (Lindsay Price) perhaps my favourite out of the women. Her fashion show is a failure and she is trying to stabilise herself whilst being wooed by a Hot Billionaire (another Mr Big?)  played by Andrew McCarthy.

I wanted to like it, and I did enjoy it. But it just didn't have the same impact as that first episode of Sex and The City. It didn't make me go "wow". In SaTC you had four women with very different and very obvious, strong personalities. With Lipstick Jungle, at the moment, the women just seem a bit samey. The same glossy hairstyle, the same suits, the same decor in their houses. There is nothing unique about them, unlike say the sexiness of Samantha and the quirkiness of Carrie. Also, I'm afraid to say, the character played by Brooke Shields (who is the linchpin of the show) is just a bit tedious. Trying to juggle so many things at once, being let down by her husband, encountering difficulties at work because of the juggling - it just seems to be a bit cliched. A bit last decade.

There is crying, their lives are starting to fall apart and when Brooke's character comes on screen I tense up as I feel one of her juggling balls is about to drop. I just feel the message is, once again, that women can't have it all.

I will continue to watch it and I reserve the right to change my mind as the season progresses but all I can say for now is...thank goodness my Sex and The City movie DVD arrived today.

THURSDAY FLICK: Lost in Austen

Lost in Austen, the new post modern interpretation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice started on ITV1 last night. Any good? Well, I've mixed feelings. I had already read a review earlier in the week saying the first half is a little, erm, odd and you have to suspend you belief and bear with it. So I was prepared when Amanda Price, a modern woman living in Hammersmith, finds Elizabeth Bennet in her bathroom, apparently after coming through a door at the end of the bath.

Amanda Price, played by Jemima Rooper (the actress who played Bobbie in the recent adaptation of The Railway Children), shares a flat in London, works in a bank and has a throughly (un)charming boyfriend, who drunkenly proposes to her. Her mother, smoking a fag, tells her she should accept the proposal, as, after all, Amanda's standards wouldn't help her with her coat when she's seventy.

So Amanda immerses herself into the romance that is Pride & Prejudice. She reads it constantly, knows the story intimately. Or so she thinks. She doesn't realise how intimate she is going to find it. So, as I've said, she finds Elizabeth in her bathroom, then she disappears, only to reappear again the following night. Amanda, initially thinking she was having a breakdown, then starts to believe, walks through the door into the Bennet's attic, and finds the door slammed behind her.

She goes downstairs, meets the family, gains Bingley's affections, then realises the "book" is now not going to plan. Bingley should be drawn to Jane, not her. She has to do something about it (so why she then goes on to snog Bingley, I've no idea.)

There are some comic moments. Hugh Bonneville plays the role of Mr Bennet very well. Amanda stares at one of the Bennet sisters, convinced for a moment that she can see a contact lense and she refers to the Darcy in this adaptation as "no Colin Firth" (and she's right). Then there is the realisation that she has to clean her teeth with birch twigs and chalk. But in terms of the differences between the cultures there could have been more. I felt something was missing.

I would also liked to have seen how Elizabeth was getting on in modern day London. I couldn't help but think that that might have been a little more exciting.

Missed the first episode? You can catch up here.

Lost in Austen, Wednesdays ITV1 at 9pm.

FRIDAY FLICK: Ballet Shoes

With the recent news that Ballet Shoes is to be released onto the big screen in America I thought I would post about the film for this week's Friday Flick (in the UK you can buy it on DVD but I bet it'll be on TV again over Christmas).

I was incredibly excited when I read Ballet Shoes the book by Noel Streatfeild was to be turned into a film. But when I heard the news that Hermione Granger (sorry Emma Watson) was to play Pauline Fossil, much as I love her, I was horrified. I thought she'd be far too old. Thankfully, however, I was wrong. Emma plays Pauline perfectly.

The film has a great cast. In addition to Emma there is Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon in Harry Potter) who plays Great Uncle Matthew, Eileen Atkins, Marc Warren, Victoria Wood (I *heart* Victoria very much) and Emilia Fox.

Certain elements of the story have been changed. They've made Mr Simpson a widower for example. Garnie's storyline has increased and there is a focus on her health plus a romantic element, which gives the film an adult storyline too. The lodgers have a decreased role to play, except for Mr Simpson, which was a bit of a shame as their roles are essential to the book, but in the end it didn't make a huge difference. It is still a lovely and beautifully shot film.

Friday Flick archives

FRIDAY FLICK: The Railway Children

This week I have gone for a book adaptation that has had two film versions made out of it, although looking on IMDb it is a popular adaptation as there was also one or two TV series filmed in the 1950's.

Think of steam engines and think of simpler times. For these three children however, life was anything but simple. Their father had been taken away in mysterious circumstances, their mother upset but with determination and stoicism they sell their house and possessions, lose their maids, and move to a smaller cottage in the country where mother starts writing in order to earn them some money.

Fortunately they have moved next to the railway line and for the three children this provides a welcome distraction. They meet and become friends with Perks the porter and the station master and save the lives of many people by waving their red petticoats after a landslide.

Both film versions are beautiful. The one I watched at the weekend was the more recent film and although I found it very good I found it difficult to see other actors playing the familiar roles. Perks wasn't Bernard Cribbins but Gregor Fisher (Rab C Nesbitt, Love Actually) and the child who played Bobbie in the 1970 version (Jenny Agutter) is now the mother in this recent version. I am though judging it on what is familiar as I have seen the 1970 version so many times. In that film I particularly loved the clumsy Phylis and the Bobbie that is gradually becoming an adult.

Either film however is a good film to watch and even my young son enjoyed it - for the stream trains obviously (until he finally lost interest two thirds of the way through). Just watch out for the ending though and get your tissues ready.

Friday Flick archives