There is something about the trailer for "Endless Love" that has a weird effect on me. I go to the movies at least once a week and I must have seen the trailer for this movie eight times since the summer. Each time, I am more mystified, confused, and bewildered than I was before. This movie does not just look awful, it's laughably awful. Now the film is more like a curiosity to me. It's like a car accident you cannot look away from. Could this movie actually wind up being as bad as it looks in this trailer? I wondered. If you think I'm being overly-harsh, then consider this: Scott Spencer, the author of the book of which this movie is very loosely based on, has completely denounced this adaptation. Apparently, the film's screenwriters have changed almost everything that made the novel unique, to the point where it all feels like an exercise in fitting in the most cliches possible (more on that later). Granted, authors can be rather grumpy at times, but it seems Spencer has a legitimate beef. First of all, there has already been a movie adaptation of "Endless Love," which starred Brooke Shields back in 1981. Spencer had his issues with that film as well, but it seems he finds this upcoming adaptation to be even more offensive. This is part of what he had to say about the movie's script in The Paris Review: "It's about one hundred pages, and the only ones that were not dreary were sciatica inducing; Chicago is now somewhere in Georgia; my Jewish lovesick arsonist protagonist is now a gentile with flying fists; his communist father is now an aw-shucks guy who works on cars, and, like most working class people in movies, is ashamed of his position in life; the communist mother has vanishedyou can't even hear the empty hangers chiming in her vacated closet. The inaugurating action of the novelDavid setting his girlfriend's house ablazeis now the climax of the movie, though in the upcoming version David has nothing to do with the fire. However, he does appear to die in it. (Don't worry, he doesn't.)" The entire article is worth reading. Scott Spencer also talks about what it was like visiting the set of the 1981 film and how heartbreaking it was to see what his novel had turned into. See, in the book, David and Jade are completely consumed by their love for each other, but when Jade's father decides to banish David from his home, David decides to set a "perfectly safe" fire to their house so that he can save the family. This, he hopes, would make them much more accepting of him. This plan, as you might suspect, backfires. Overall, the novel is actually pretty dark in tone and it was highly praised by literary critics at the time of its release. So, naturally, the screenwriters of this upcoming film decided that the necessary thing to do would be to strip away everything that made the novel interesting. Somehow, from the looks of the trailer, they've still managed to make the film look fascinating. Fascinatingly terrible, that is. I have decided to break down just why this movie looks so bad. Be sure to watch the trailer below so you can join in on the fun.
