Watching from a writer’s mind

Often times, I find myself watching a movie from the perspective of a writer. This causes many interesting things to happen, including some of the following:

1.) I love the film, despite major plot holes, too much dependence on suspension of disbelief, poor acting or other glaring faults that cause others to hate the film. A great example of this came for me in the movie “Lake Placid”. Most of the critics would disagree with my adoration of this film. For example, William Arnold of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer called it “terribly mediocre,” and Michael Dequina of Mr. Brown’s Movies said, “The cast is game enough, but they cannot elevate the weak material beyond the watchable junk level.”

However, as a writer, I appreciated the fact that someone put some thought into this funny little horror film. Jokes were carried throughout with ease and wittiness, the one-liners came at unexpected moments, and the plot twist at the end was fantastic. While “Lake Placid” won’t make my top 10 favorites of all times list, it was definitely very clever and worth seeing.

2.) I hate the film due to lack of effort. The one that stands out the most for me in this category was “The Ring.” Everyone’s favorite scary movie of a few summers ago was my biggest disappointment. Sure, the idea was fresh and the suspense was there, but I didn’t appreciate any of that due to the fact that whoever adapted this screenplay from the original Japanese verion OBVIOUSLY was not at all familiar with Seattle, the setting they chose for the film.

Honestly, I do not know how anyone even remotely familiar with the Northwest could follow this movie without noticing the complete lack of research that went into setting this film in Seattle. For starters, the Monorail is shown in numerous shots, as if to imply that this is the number one mode of transportation for Seattlites. Secondly, throughout the movie, the rain is coming down deluge style. It does NOT constantly rain in Seattle, and on the days that it does rain, it is VERY rare for it to be as heavy as it was shown in the film. I could go on and on about this moive… about the fact that the main character refers to taking a trip “upstate,” which is NOT a term I have ever heard anyone in Seattle use, to the fact that once she IS “upstate,” and walking around in muddy fields, there is not a trace of mud on her shoes when she walks in the house.

The lesson here is simple: stick to what you know when writing. If you don’t, those who DO know will be less than impressed.

3.) On occasion, there is a film which is beautifully written, the imagery is both aesthetic and poignant, and the rest of the aspects seem to work together, as well. For me, these stars align in movies such as “K-PAX,” “Adaptation,” and “The Sixth Sense.”

In short, writers for stage and screen, please put a little time and effort into your work. There are plenty of us out there who appreciate it more than you may realize.