Friday, September 30, 2011

Wrong...just wrong.



Have you seen the trailer for the long-anticipated One For the Money movie, coming in January? What do you think?

Katherine Heigl? As Stephanie Plum? WHAAAA?

Seriously, what were the producers thinking when they casted this thing? I guess Heigl is a decent enough actress, but she is most definitely NOT the wise-cracking, down-to-earth Jersey Girl accidental-bailbondswoman written by Janet Evanovich. It really begs the question -- did anyone involved with this film even read the books?

Yes, I'm going to see it. (Well, maybe. It's due to release about a month after my son is born, so it's entirely possible any free time I get I'll just want to sleep instead of going to the movies. So I might have to wait until it hits DVD.)

And I really hope they don't ruin one of my favorite book franchises. (Although I admit I've been less excited about the misadventures of that ever-populr Stephanie-Morelli-Ranger love-triangle in the last few books, as it becomes more and more clear that they're headed towards no resoution whatsoever, despite Book #18 coming out in November. But the first ten or so were sheer comic gold!) But with Katherine Heigl as Stephanie, I just can't wonder what else they did to massacre the book.

Had they made this movie 10 years ago (the original book was released in 1994), Sandra Bullock would have been the ideal Stephanie Plum. Or even Marisa Tomei. But of course, it was filmed in 2011, not 2000, and they're both too old for Stephanie now.

So who would have been a better choice today? Anyone, really. Amanda Peet could have been good. Even Anne Hathaway would be a more believable Stephanie. But frankly, I think an unknown might have been a fantastic choice. Assuming they followed the Evanovich manuscript closely, the script would have been strong enough even without a household name.

But seriously...anyone but Katherine Heigl.

Let's have a look at the rest of the cast. Jason O'Mara as Joe Morelli? I loved O'Mara in Life On Mars, but who casts an Irishman as a stereotypical Italian-American cop?

Daniel Sunjata as Ranger? OK, this one I can live with. Sunjata is definitely H-O-T, although I do have a bit of a problem with the producers just expecting us to conveniently forget that Ranger is supposed to be Cuban, not half-African-American. But I'll give them a pass on this one.

Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur? The jury is out on this one. I bet she'll be funny, but she just seems, I don't know, too pretty to play this wacky Italian/Hungarian matriarch with a penchant for open casket funerals. (Wouldn't Betty White have been amazing?)

I must admit that Sheri Shepherd as Lula is a pretty darn good choice. At least they did something right.

So what do you think of the trailer? The casting choices? Are you going to see it?

7 comments:

Sarah S. said...

That is definitely not how I pictured those characters. I will eventually watch the movie, but I don't particularly want to pay money in the theater. I may wait till it's on HBO.

sunfried7 said...

Agreed! When I first saw the casting I was amazed! The heritage of the characters plays a huge part in the stories so I find the cast sad and disappointing. I really dislike that they have Catherine Hiegel playing Stephanie, an Irishman playing Joe the Sexy italian and a half-african american guy playing a Cuban Ranger.

Brandy said...

I heard about the casting when it first happened and swore then I wouldn't see the movie. I may become curious enough to see it when the library finally gets a copy late next year. And to be honest? After book fifteen I stopped reading the series. (At this point I hate Joe and know Ranger isn't a viable option.)

Anonymous said...

Amanda you are so right. Bad casting. Ranger is not suave or hip rather he's a powerful, charasmatic life force who takes over a room and Morelli is not a blue eyed Irishman rather a scruffy hard edged soft hearted guy. All around just disappointing.

Anonymous said...

Amanda you are so right. Bad casting. Ranger is not suave or hip rather he's a powerful, charasmatic life force who takes over a room and Morelli is not a blue eyed Irishman rather a scruffy hard edged soft hearted guy. All around just disappointing.

Anonymous said...

Huh...my mind just went blank thinking about Heigl as Plum -- bad sign! :-)

Michele L. said...

I watched the trailer the other day and I was like, huh? It just didn't work for me at all. There isn't any pizzazz or spark to Heigel. She doesn't look anything like I pictured Stephanie to look like. I am surprised that Janet didn't have a say-so in who played her characters.