Even women with bums the size of bowling balls can find happy endings...

I've never had the highest regard for book-turned-motion-picture movies. For some reason, which is justifiable by a 120-minute time constraint, I always felt that movie adaptations don't give justice to the book. This is especially true for classic favorites like Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice and other such genre of timeless literature. Some details are inevitably lost/missed/cut and if the audience has read the book beforehand and felt quite passionately about, this is a sheer let-down. I would suppose it's partly psychological. We all have different extents of imagination and the operative word is "different." And due to the fact that in books things as simple as how a character would look, act or dress are dependent a whole lot on one's imagination, seeing these things differently in movies would solicit a less-than-favorable reaction. Or otherwise. To me however, it has always been the lesser end of the spectrum.

Movie adaptations have been quite a norm. People just have lost the "need" to read so when a book is hyped about, a movie follows suit-- convenient, fast and does not induce sleep. This is especially true for cotemporary women books from the likes of Candice Bushnell (Sex & the City), Sophie Kinsella (Shoppaholics series) and Helen Fielding (Bridget Jones' Diary). Well, these books are quite easy reads and enjoyable, too. Very straighforward thus not much thinking needed and I guess adapting them into movies would not elicit as much upheaval as (complicated? sophisticated?) literary masterpieces that require a certain degree of passion to endure to the backcover.

I have read Bridget Jones' Diary The Edge of Reason sometime ago & I was quite contented that I didn't feel the need to see the movie. But I absolutely love Renee Zellweger (and I just had to see the weight gain!) so when I came across the DVD yesterday, I jumped at the chance. There were a couple of tweaks here and there like Rebecca Gillies turning out to be a lesbian who's in love with Bridget (when she was supposed to be steep competition for Mr. Darcy's affection)-- I guess this was to soften the blow and make Mr. Darcy's choice of Bridget over her a wee bit realistic. But Renee is an absolute darling-- and quite abnormal in a way, part of what charms Mr. Darcy I suppose (in a completely inexplicable twist of fate). The story is funny, well Bridget is funny and it offers a window of possibility that yes, even those with legs that don't come up to their necks or who don't swish-swash in a ball gown like it was second skin, can end up with a sophisticated human rights lawyer-- but this window, of course, shuts in exactly 2 seconds. Being with a guy when you think you're lesser than him is a bad idea to start with. All the insecurity battles are just not worth the fight (but that is a completely different post).

For whatever it is worth-- maybe, just maybe, even girls with bums as big as bowling balls can find happy endings. The thing is, the ending can be happy but in real life, something always comes after the ending... now, that may be a sticky situation.