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June 15, 2000
I like me some Stephen King.
I rented "The Green Mile" to watch tonight. I probably should have gone to the gym -- trying hard to get into shape before the old college boyfriend comes to visit, you know -- but I had an upset stomach, and I wanted to turn my brain off for a while. The upset stomach was all stress. My body reacts to stress in a lovely variety of ways. I get insomnia, nightmares, sleepwalking, migraines, panic attacks, and a violently sick stomach. I had the nightmares last week, followed by insomnia. I had a migraine yesterday, with a side of panic attacks. Today was the upset stomach. Hey, at least I have a wide selection, so I don't get bored!
The movie certainly worked. It kept me from thinking about...thing I don't want to think about (and am going to make an effort not to talk about much more, here -- thank you to everyone who has told me it's okay, but I really don't want to make you guys my personal venting grounds, you know?) It made me cry my eyes out. I loved it. Except for the last five to ten minutes. No spoilers here, but... I hated the ending. I hated the explanation they tacked on. I'm a big fan of the book, so that may have been part of it. I generally don't like movies made from books I love, because they always deviate, and I always hate it. But the pat ending to this one -- feh. Hated it.
I do like Stephen King. I realize that's a dangerous admission to make -- he's pretty trashy, after all. His writing, technically, stinks. (But hey, mine too. I have no illusions.) But he spins a good story. His recent books, with the exception of Bag of Bones and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, are crap. His earlier stuff is just as trashy, but entertains me anyway. His novels don't usually translate well to the screen, but this one works.
I have a soft spot for this novel -- I read it during the summer before I met Barry. I had just gotten out of a bad relationship. (I have a lot of those, you see.) I hated where I was living. I hated my job. I had just graduated from college with a degree in journalism, and realized that I didn't want to be a reporter. I didn't know what I was doing. I was completely at a loss, and miserable. Stephen King released The Green Mile as a series. Each chapter was published on its own, about one per month. Those installments kept me going that summer. When the new one would come out, I would stop at the bookstore on my way home from work, buy it, and read it on the subway on the way home. I usually finished it during the train ride, and then I would be impatient and cranky all month until the next chapter was released. I know it was just a marketing gimmick, but it worked for me. Gave me something to look forward to, when I was a pathetic and miserable little person. Now, if I could just convince him to do it again this summer...
What do you think of Stephen King?
Posted by Mary Ellen at June 15, 2000 02:59 PM