Showing posts with label Chick Lit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chick Lit. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The Undomestic Goddess

The Undomestic Goddess is a cute little chick-lit book by (of course) Sophie Kinsella. I liked this one a lot less than the last two Kinsella novels I read recently: Remember Me? and Can You Keep a Secret? but it's still cute, and would actually make a killing as a movie. The climactic scene is a lot more tense than her other stuff, and likely to be more fun at the box-office.

We'll start with Samantha, our main girl. She's twenty nine and about to be made the youngest partner in her law firm's history. Naturally, she's completely married to her job. She works sixteen hour days, every day. So she's a little... stressed. Then, she makes a huge (gigantic!) mistake and leaves the legal field, and accidentally becomes a (gulp) full-time housekeeper. Yes, accidentally. Samantha is stubborn, determined and incredibly bright. But then, when life slows down, she learns to be softer, and she... well, you'll have to read the book to find out what else she learns :) Is it weird that I totally pictured Rachel McAdams?

I know she's supposed to be British, but I just could.not. get her out of my head. And if Renee Zellwegger can pull of being British as well as she did, surely somebody else can do it, too, yes? Yes. I vote for Rachel McAdams. She's the only one I can think of who is the right age and can be both the workhorse and the slower, sweeter Samantha, and still look like a sex kitten doing so.

Ketterman is one of the partners at Samantha's firm. He's a... well, there's not really a nice term for it: he's a hardass. He's tough, though fair, and he is not the least bit friendly. It took about one page for me to see Daniel Craig in this part.


Arthur is the senior most partner at Samantha's firm. He's a nice guy, kind of a Santa-comes-to-life crossed with a corporate executive type of lawyer man. Yeah. That's an accurate description. He also needs to be capable of subterfuge, but you didn't hear that from me. I vote for Jim Broadbent.

Guy is one of Samantha's colleagues. He's dashing and handsome (not available... darn!) and a partner in one of the other departments. He's an American, and Harvard educated. He's also cocky and overly efficient. I kind of picture Ryan Reynolds, even though he's waaaaay too big of a star to have this small of a role. But you know, somebody like Ryan Reynolds.




Nathaniel is the gardener at Samantha's new location after she absconds from London. He's one of those work-outside-all-day types, but has a head for business and is (of course) absolutely gorgeous. I like Sean Maguire for this part.

Iris is Nathaniel's mother. She's a homey, simple, beautiful woman who loves her role as a housewife. She cooks, bakes, cleans and keeps a beautiful English country home with class and grace. She's well mannered and sweet and the epitome of English manners. I could not help thinking of Helen Mirren.

Trish Geiger is Samantha's new employer. She's an average lady in her late forties who is now trying to keep up with the trophy wives of the English society, and not doing a very good job of it. Again, there's no real "average looking" women in acting. So you need somebody who you can frumpify. I pick Jane Leeves.

Eddie Geiger is Trish's husband and Samantha's new employer. He's a "Joe Six Pack" who made big money kind of by accident. He's kind of a doof and not really attractive. He's just an average guy who got lucky and is now living the good life. Somebody who looks kind of like Mark Addy.


Melissa is Trish and Eddie's niece. She's a second year law student and life is just. so. hard. :: pout :: She has to, you know, read. And she doesn't get to go out with her friends like she used to. Like I said, life is so hard. She's young and pretty and looks like the words she's reading maybe aren't sticking in her head so well... I like somebody like Talulah Riley.
You can read my review of this book on Goodreads.com


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Everyone Worth Knowing

Everyone Worth Knowing is a novel by Lauren Weisberger, the same who brought us The Devil Wears Prada. Frankly, this is basically The Devil Wears Prada 2. Except it's not a well-made sequel that stands on it's own two legs like Toy Story 2 or any of the Star Wars sequels... it's more like Bring It On Again or Mean Girls 2... you know, a straight-to-DVD or straight-to-cable version of the first movie but with all new characters played by cheaper actors with lamer jokes. 

Bette is our main star. She was raised by hippie nut cases in upstate New York, but went to Emory University and met some normal people and then moved to the Big Apple after graduation. She's still pretty liberal and simple, but has eased up a bit. You know, she doesn't know what country her jeans were made in and sometimes wears makeup and has taken a cab or too, despite their carbon footprint. I think somebody like Rachel McAdams would be good here: strong enough to carry a whole film, likable enough that you overlook her obvious personality flaws and pretty enough to look like she isn't wearing any make up most of the time.

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Penelope is Bette's best friend, even though the two were raised in absolute opposite environments. Penelope was raised in New York City by wealthy socialites who think she should quit her job and just be married to the cheating-drug using-alcoholic jerk wad she's dating. Not that she sees anything wrong with him; she's classic blinders-girl and doesn't know that there's no such thing as "work meetings" at 2 AM with strippers. I saw Rashida Jones from the beginning and the image just stuck.
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Philip Weston is a hot, rich New York playboy. He's pretty much a fictionalized, male version of Paris Hilton. He takes a liking to Bette and soon the media think they're dating. He's a coke-snorting, champagne guzzling, underage girl mauling stuck up pretentious arrogant snotrag. But he's really, really pretty, so everybody puts up with it. He's also British, and I think somebody like Matthew Marsden would be good here.
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Avery is Penelope's long term boyfriend. He's a douche bag. I see somebody like Ryan Kwanten.
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Kelly is the super fabulous party planner extraordinaire. She runs the PR company that Bette works for and as such is the epicenter of all things social and fabulous in New York City. She's thin and beautiful and fabulous and shallow and completely pitiless. She doesn't care if you've sacrificed your entire life for this job, she cares that you looked sexy and managed to plug a product while doing it. I think of Elizabeth Hurley.
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Seriously, though, is there a more fabulous looking person? I don't think so.

Sammy is a bouncer at one of the clubs Bette and her work crew frequent. He looks like a typical bouncer, and Bette first treats him with disdain. However, once she gets to know him and finds out a little more about his background, she realizes he's a lot smarter than he looks, and lot more down to earth than the jerks she's been surrounding herself with. I think somebody like Scott Speedman can pull this off: semi meat head appearance, but an ability to be soft and smart, too.
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Isabelle is this uber-rich, bored, snotty lady. She actually pays a young man to accompany her and pretend to be her boy toy, since her husband is too bored by her shopping, manicured life to actually spend any time with her. It's a really small part, and I know this would never, ever happen, but I totally saw Bethenny from the Real Housewives of New York.
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Don't you judge me... I know you're watching that show, too... don't even try to lie about it.

Will is Bette's fabulous gay uncle. I'll admit, I couldn't get Stanley Tucci out of my mind. And I'm sure that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that this character is, in essence the exact same character from another Weisberger novel just with a different name. No author is that unoriginal so as to rip off her own work like that...
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 Ahem. Stanley Tucci it is. 

Bette's parents are total hippie-dippy progressive left wing nut jobs. They take the green-is-good mantra so far that nobody actually wants to come in their house. Their teenage daughter didn't shower, shopped only in thrift stores and spent all her free times writing letters to political heavyweights trying to change the world. They refuse to celebrate Thanksgiving, and instead host a Harvest Party around their bonfire. They are in the book for a very short amount of time, and would likely be played by no name actors. But the description of them is so strong and so cliche, that I actually couldn't help but picturing:


Alan Richens and Mimi Kennedy, who played essentially the same characters in Dharma and Greg.




You can read my review of this book on Goodreads.com

Monday, March 14, 2011

Remember Me?

I don't know why I've been on this chick-lit kick lately (try saying "chick-lit kick" five times fast) but it's been a fun little run of books.

Remember Me? (not to be confused with the Robert Pattinson movie... the two are not related... it's just a common phrase) is a cute novel by Sophie Kinsella about dreadfully average Lexi Smart. She's a little overweight, has bad teeth, frizzy hair, a loser boyfriend and a lackluster career. Until she wakes up from a coma with the exact opposite of all that; now she has perfect teeth, perfect hair, a multi-millionaire model-perfect husband, a killer bod and a senior executive job.

One problem: she can't remember how she got there, how she became this perfect, brunette Barbie living her dream life. Sort of a novel version of 13 Going on 30, and it is absolutely as fun as that movie was.

Let's start with the woman of the hour, Lexi Smart. She's only "average" for the first three pages of the novel, so in reality, we would have a picture-perfect actress play her, and just uglify her for the opening scene. She needs to be beautiful, but pretty unbelievable as a total jerk, you have to know that there's a humble girl deep down inside somewhere. I think of somebody like Hayley Atwell
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Lexi has three friends at the beginning of the story, Fi, Carolyn and Debs. They are all typically pretty late twenty, early thirty somethings. They don't have big roles, but they are important to show where Lexi came from, and just how different things are now.
Fi- Naomie Harris
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Debs- Sally Hawkins
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Carolyn- Martine McCutcheon
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 Eric is Lexi's husband. His main feature is his stunning good looks. He's model-perfect. He's also completely boring yet fabulously wealthy. He is so dull that he can own a white suede couch and not worry about ruining it. He also bills his wife when she breaks a (admittedly very expensive) knick-knack in their living room. Charmer. I think some stone-cold fox like Jamie Bamber would work here.
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Byron works with Lexi and he's a total jerk. Lexi passed him on the corporate ladder, and he just can't get over it. So he goes out of his way to take advantage of her amnesia and sabotages her constantly. I see Jared Harris
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Amy is Lexi's little sister. She was twelve the last time Lexi remembers, but now she's fifteen and a bit of a criminal. She has to look a little rough, but it should be totally obvious that her bad-girl behavior is a desperate cry for attention, and there's a sweet kid lurking underneath. Somebody like  Eleanor Tomlinson
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Lexi's mum is a mess. Her husband philandered around for the duration of their marriage, and actually died overseas with his mistress. Oh, he also left his wife with all his bad debts, leaving her destitute as well as heartbroken. I think we need a woman who just looks lost, like she can't handle the hand life has dealt to her. Somebody like Miranda Richardson 
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Rosalie is Lexi's "best friend" now that Lexi is all pretty and rich and successful. She, of course, knows nothing about Lexi, except for the fact that she is pretty, rich and successful. They go to the gym together. That is the extent of their friendship. Rosalie is pretty and snobby and selfish. In my mind, I saw somebody who looked a lot like Sonya Walger
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Jon the architect, is, well, he's the guy that Lexi is having an affair with. I would call this a spoiler, except that it's revealed about fifty pages into the story, and it's so heavily hinted at prior to that, you can hardly call it a secret anyway. I am torn on this one. He's described as being "scruffy" and "arrogant" and when I hear "scruffy" and "arrogant" about a handsome British guy, I automatically think of Jude Law
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 but, there's a problem with Jude Law. Jon, the character, is supposed to be this amazingly and surprisingly passionate guy. At first, Lexi thinks he's just a boor, but as time goes by, she can't deny that there's something intrinsically likable about him. He's relaxed and simple and easy to be with. He's funny and cultured and successful without being pompous or stuffy. So, while Jude Law is certainly a handsome bloke, I just can't see him here. He's too cold or... dispassionate or... something. I don't know. There's a spark of "fun" and "relaxed" missing from him. Instead, I pick Paul Bettany 
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Not as strikingly handsome, sure, but still easy on the eyes. And frankly, if you've seen both "The Holiday" and "Wimbledon" you'll have to agree that Paul Bettany is easier to believe as a love-sick puppy. Jude Law is more believable as a cad. Which, I don't disagree here, is fun to watch, but not really what we're looking for this time around.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Can You Keep A Secret?

Can You Keep A Secret by Sophie Kinsella is a fun, if typical, chick-lit novel. Emma, our star, is your average twenty-something living in London and trying to piece it all together. One day, she gets drunk, gets on a plane, and gets bumped to business class. During some terrible turbulence, she gets nervous panicked and begins confessing her life to the handsome American next to her.

Three days later, the CEO of the company she works for comes into the office to meet the front-line employees and jumpstart some failing brands (Emma works in marketing).

Do those two events sound disconnected? Well, then you haven't read enough chick-lit or seen enough chick-flicks. The handsome American in the first paragraph? He's the CEO, of course. Cue embarrassment, backpedaling, eventual admission of life story, and complete upheaval of Emma's life. It's actually really, really funny, and somehow relateable.

Emma is our main star. She's a typical twenty-something living in London. Her career is new, she's unsure of who she is and what she wants. She's insecure, and she keeps secrets. Not big secrets, like, "I've cheated on my boyfriend with his dad" type of secrets, more like "I weigh ten pounds less than my driver's license says." or "I don't actually like jazz, I just said that to impress a guy, and it stuck somehow." You know, little, embarrassing things. I think somebody pretty, but capable of coming completely unglued is needed for this role, and I pick a capable actress like Rosamund Pike
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Connor is Emma's boyfriend. He's sweet, generous, hard working, and a total bore. He loves her to death, and is so, so good to her, but he's like a 75 year old man trapped in the body of a 30 year old. Oh, and he's gorgeous. Like a living Ken doll. Who else but Oliver Jackson-Cohen?
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Lissy is Emma's best friend. She's a lawyer, and a top notch one at that. She's smart above all else, but she's also caring, and petite and sweet. She, of course, has an embarrassing secret of her own! I saw Carey Mulligan in this and I think she'd be brilliant.
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Jemima is the flatmate of Emma and Lissy. She's rich, beautiful, a little snobby, and very vindictive. Her whole aim in life is to land a rich man, "get a rock on her finger" and live the life of a trophy wife. She'll probably succeed, too. I think Alice Eve would make a good choice.
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Kerry is Emma's older cousin, though she was orphaned as a young teen and actually lived in Emma's house while they were growing up. She's a bit older, and even though she's a cousin, she holds the spot of the annoying older sibling: she does everything first, and she does everything better. She's successful, ambitious, wealthy, snotty, thin, pretty... you get the picture. I pictured Vanessa Branch immediately (though this was inspired by a brief guest spot on the Gilmore Girls, not Orbit gum commercials, actually.)
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Jack Harper is our main man. He's the American CEO of Panther Cola, a company that seems to have melded Coke and Nike, and Jack is the brilliant marketing genius behind it all. His best friend and business partner has just died, and Jack is trying to put his life back into gear, when wouldn't you know, this drunken, adorable girl babbles incoherently at him on an airplane and captures his curiosity. He's supposed to be sort of the frat-boy-grown-old, charming yet disheveled, wealthy yet completely casual kind of guy that you wish you could bring home to mom. You know, a multimillionaire who eats pizza on a park bench and loves it. I cannot, absolutely cannot see anybody but  Robert. Downey. Jr.
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You can read my review of this book at Goodreads.com

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Summer Sisters- Part 2

The second part (check out the first part) of the Summer Sisters Fantasy Cast finds the two main characters, Caitlin and Vix, as teenagers. This part of the book, spanning from the age of 15 until they graduate highschool, details the fact they’re no longer children and therefore, open their story up to a whole new cast of characters and situations – most of them involving boys. In a film version of this story, the girls’ teenage years would cover almost the first half of the film, as a lot of very important plot points happen during this point in their lives. I could see these actors playing out the characters until the girls graduate from high school. Once they move onto college, it would easy for the characters to transition into adult actors.

At 15, Caitlin is disarmingly beautiful and she uses this beauty to her advantage as her wild side starts to become reckless. She flaunts her beauty in front of men and uses it to get what she wants. She tells Vix time and time again of her sexual escapades and how she’s lured men into her arms. She is sassy and bold but still remains vibrant and bright, a likable character. The actress who plays the teenaged Caitlin has to be believable as a beautiful, smoldering temptress who seems conniving and selfish but who can still play the part of the loving, faithful best friend to Vix. I picture Taylor Momsen taking on this role.
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 Vix, as a teenager, is a little bit more down to earth than her wild best friend. She’s coming into herself though, and the boys are starting to notice her. (Vix’s boobs grow twice as fast and twice as big as Caitlin’s – a fact that Caitlin never lets Vix forget.) She doesn’t compare herself to Caitlin in looks or behavior but she’s still beautiful in her own, quiet “Victorian” way. Caitlin’s personality shines past Vix’s subtleties but Vix is now coming out of Caitlin’s shadow, especially as they turn 17 and their lives become more separate. I didn’t want Vix’s actress to be too beautiful but that’s almost impossible with Hollywood today. However, I can see Lyndsy Fonseca  portraying Vix perfectly.
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 There are a lot of men who come into the story when the girls are teenagers who play significant roles throughout the rest of the book. The two main male characters are the girls’ first loves – Von and Bru. The girls have known of them since Vix’s first summer on the island. They’re older than the girls by about three or four years and are in their very early twenties when the pairs begin dating. They’re cousins – both island boys – and both very handsome. Von is described as more of a pretty boy type with a bit of a dangerous charm, while Bru is portrayed as the strong, silent, passionate type, the guy with the muscles and a rough but sexy charm. 

For Von, I immediately pictured Ian Somerhalder 
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and for Bru, Taylor Kitsch. They’re both ridiculously handsome but I think they could be believable as family to each other and as boyfriends for each of the girls. The actors could also potentially carry the role throughout the rest of the film, too, as both Von and Bru appear throughout and later in the plot when the girls are older.
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The Chicago Boys come into the plot when the girls are teenagers and are 17, much younger than Von and Bru. Daniel is Abby’s son and Caitlin’s step-brother and Gus is Daniel’s best friend, flown in from Chicago every summer to keep Daniel company – he’s kind of like the male equivalent of Vix’s placement in the Somers family. So, in a way, they are very alike. In the story Caitlin also has a biological brother, Sharkey, but, in my opinion, he doesn’t add much to the story. Pick any tall, lanky, awkward looking young actor and he’s cast. The Chicago boys, and Gus especially, are important to the story but this doesn’t become apparent until much later in the plot. 


Daniel is every bit the rich, entitled prep-school boy and for most of the book he remains this way but especially so as a teenager. He’s very protective of his mother and her feelings and therefore, he doesn’t get along with Caitlin. I see Lucas Till fitting into this role with relative ease. 
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 Gus is Daniel’s best friend and together they make a pretty formidable duo. Daniel has the bad attitude and Gus has the size. Throughout the book he is described as being very large, muscular and strong, and he looks much older than his actual age of 17. He keeps Daniel company and for the first part of the book, holds his weight as a filler character, until he takes a larger role later in the story. I see Robbie Amell playing Gus as a teenager.
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 Heather blogs over at New German Girl about being an au pair and the glories of slave labor. Kidding. Sort of. But not really.