Whenever Hollywood announces that they’re turning a beloved novel into a movie, it’s normal to see the book purists sharpening their pitchforks for when the movie eventually lands on screen. More often than not, these book purists are justified in their wariness. Hollywood tends to change a thing or two from the book, and most of the time, they change the wrong things without necessarily improving the storytelling.
Nevertheless, it’s only fair to say that sometimes they get it right too, especially when the movie figures out what the book is trying to say and says it better. Not because the book was bad, but because movies have something books will never have. That something is often the near-impossible ability to accurately elicit the feeling that comes from watching two people look at each other in a way that makes the heart pound with excitement. That said, here are five rom-com adaptations that turned good books into unforgettable motion pictures.
5. High Fidelity (2000)
Nick Hornby’s novel is about a record store man who ranks his ex-girlfriends like they’re vinyl collections. He does so obsessively and with zero self-awareness. It’s funny, it’s sad, and it’s very British. Setting the movie in Chicago instead of the book’s London background gave it a more lived-in feel that the book did not achieve. Rob actually tracked down his exes in person to figure out where he went wrong, which is both funnier and more uncomfortable than anything the book managed on the page. Even better was John Cusack, the actor who plays Rob, talking directly into the camera and justifying himself to the audience in real time. Also, Jack Black stole half the scenes with a performance that the book’s supporting ensemble never matched.
4. The Princess Diaries (2001)
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Meg Cabot wrote a very charming novel. No one can dispute that. However, the diary format means it rambles and wanders to a point that is almost frustrating. That’s all well and good for YA fiction, but it just doesn’t work for a movie that has only about ninety minutes to get Anne Hathaway‘s Mia into a tiara and ball gown.
As fate would have it, Director Garry Marshall knew that, and he proceeded to give the whole thing a Cinderella makeover. That includes a clean plot, clear stakes, and letting Hathaway be Hathaway in the best possible way. She plays Mia like she’s permanently uncomfortable in her own body, and watching her figure out how to be a princess makes the whole ride worth it. Oh, and Julie Andrews (Queen Clarisse Renaldi) pulled off a masterclass that showed everyone what real royalty looks like. Ultimately, the book was fun to read, but the movie gave every little girl who felt invisible a fantasy about secretly being a princess.
3. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
When adaptations largely stay true to the books, fans notice and are appreciative. That’s basically the case with Netflix when they got their hands on To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before in 2018. Jenny Han’s 2014 novel of the same name already had a massive fan club, all of whom enjoyed how the movie kept everything people loved about the book. The upgrade is the casting of Lana Condor and Noah Centineo as Lara Jean Song-Covey and Peter Kavinsky, respectively.
The way they captured the chemistry between those two characters is something the book never really managed. They got the audience genuinely stressed out with every fake dating scene, even though just about everyone knew where it was going. The movie also reminded everyone that teen rom-coms can be heartfelt and smart, as opposed to just being guilty pleasure junk.
2. Bridget Jones Diary (2001)
Helen Fielding’s book is clever and really funny. But like The Princess Diaries, it was written completely in diary format, which means calorie counts and embarrassing moments piling up until the structure basically fights against itself. The film fixed all that by pulling Bridget out of her own head and turning her into someone viewers could actually watch stumble through life and relate to.
It more than helped that Renée Zellweger really sold herself as Bridget. She brought to life all that stumbling, the verbal disasters, and that specific kind of dignity Bridget holds on to when everything around her is falling apart. Then there’s Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. It was clear that they were both having the time of their lives opposite her, and that made the love triangle feel like a real contest instead of a foregone conclusion.
1. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Kevin Kwan’s novel did its best to describe how ridiculous old-money Singapore looks. But that was only enough to leave readers to their imagination, which usually creates unrealistic versions. The movie, on the other hand, just showed viewers exactly what that looks like. Jon M. Chu turned Singapore into a full-on spectacle with the wedding, the fashion, and the sheer excess of a family that’s been rich so long they don’t even think about it anymore.
Constance Wu and Henry Golding also kept the romance grounded enough to make audiences care about more than just the fancy stuff. However, what pushed the film beyond its impressive box office numbers into legendary status was that it was the first major Hollywood production with an all-Asian cast in 25 years. And it proved, without any asterisks, that a big studio could tell that story without whitewashing it. That’s something only the movie could have done.
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