Tag Archives: Janet Evanovich

The Katherine Heigl movie based on Janet Evanovich’s first Stephanie Plum book, One for the Money, is getting terrible reviews.  Here are actual quotes from some reviews.  I am presenting them as ad “blurbs”  for your entertainment:

• New York Times:  Weary and uninspired!
• Chicago Tribune:  A malnourished exercise in star vanity!
• Entertainment Weekly:  It will have you groaning between yawns!

So, of course, I went to see it.  I’ve blogged about Stephanie Plum before  (here and here) and I was curious to see how the Trenton, NJ gal translated to the big screen.

I’m not afraid to say it:  folks, it was not that bad.  Really.  It was actually kind of fun.  Katherine Heigl is maybe not quite sassy enough to be Stephanie, but she’s believable.  The “no-name” actor who plays Morelli is cute as all get out.  The actor playing Ranger is no Benjamin Bratt, but he can’t help it that I had cast Bratt in my head when I read the books.  And Debbie Reynolds is not quite ethnic enough to be Grandma Mazur, but she’s still a hoot.

All the minor characters could have been pulled right out of an Evanovich book.  The plot (about which the word “convoluted” is usually used) is totally Plum.  If it’s not 100% word for word what Evanovich wrote, I can tell you, it is completely in keeping.  I gotta say – if you like the books, you’ll probably like the movie.  Since the studio is investing approximately $0 in marketing, here’s the trailer.

One last note:  it’s pretty clear that the market for Janet Evanovich is women over 45.   I’m being generous here, since if the 1:00 movie at the Lake Theater in Oak Park, IL, is any indication, the actual target demographic should be 63.5 years of age.  I was definitely on the young side.  The ladies loved it.  The women’s room was much a-twitter immediately following the show.