The Most Overrated Books and Movies

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Let me try another experiment. Originally, this was just going to be about books, and I still hope that particular subject gets traction, but I feel that we may get a lot more mileage if I add movies, since I'm sure there are some titles that stand out.

Anyway, have you ever had a book or a movie hyped up as one of the greatest of its kind, and then you picked it up and found that it doesn't live up to your expectations? And you're left wondering what everyone else saw in it? Well, this is a topic for just that. Tell me what you've read or seen that just didn't match its valued reputation as a "classic." I'm sure there's something that you can think of; I can think of at least one in Raven's case, though I won't discuss it just yet, as 1) I don't know the full story, and 2) I'm sure he'd appreciate being allowed to talk about it himself.

I'm not sure how much I can participate in this discussion, of course, because I can't really think of anything that genuinely didn't live up to its status. There've been some books that I read in high school that I just didn't get into, but my high school years were a troublesome time where my interests were severely pulled in different directions, so I'm not sure if I would have the same opinion if I read them today. As for movies, first impressions can be misleading, so I would be more than happy to revisit anything that I've seen once before that I just didn't get.

So what have you read/seen that just didn't click? What are the best works that just don't live up to the title of "best"?

[Raven]

Out of curiosity, I have to ask, what do you feel my answer would be? I am having a hard time figuring it out.



First let me preface this: I enjoy the Harry Potter series. That said, I found the last two books disappointing, with the final book being the worst of all. It was an underwhelming end to what was an excellent build up. I think it was poorly done in a number of ways. I'm not sure the end of Harry Potter is overrated or not, but it certainly was highly anticipated. I stood in line in Oxford, England that release night to get my copy and I cloistered myself away basically until I finished it. It was a wonderful night on the streets and in the bookstores of Oxford that I remember fondly, with all it's Halloween-Esque atmosphere, but the book was not so satisfying.

That's my contribution for now.

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

Off the cuff, for you, I would say Don Quixote, based on your comments in the past. From what I gather, it's not that you hate the book, it just didn't manage to capture your interest. You said you didn't like the content. My apologies if I overstepped myself.

For me, I remember reading several books in high school:

-Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
-The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
-Adam Bede by George Eliot
-Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

My first response is to say that I was totally underwhelmed by all of them. However, Not only do I have to reiterate that first impressions aren't always the best, but in my own opinion, I was a horrible English student, insofar as I was more concerned about the latest Sonic the Hedgehog game than my studies. Seriously, video games were a serious noose around my neck that cost me a lot attention in school. Thus, if I were to go back to them now, I imagine that I would feel differently as I have more of the desire to take them seriously. Also, based on my own light research on authors and novels, I might approach them from a different angle.

The same thing goes for film, of course, but to give an example off the bat, I would pick Raging Bull - you know, Martin Scorsese's 1980 biopic of temperamental boxer Jake LaMotta (played in an Oscar-winning performance by Robert De Niro). This movie is considered a classic as a sports movie (I actually really like sports movies, though I don't give much concern about sports.....weird), a biopic, and a cinematic experiment. Considered both one of Scorsese's best films and one of the greatest films ever made, it's currently preserved in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. And yet.......I just didn't get this movie. The family rented it one night, and we were all left puzzled. It may have been Scorsese's intent to do so, as well as what really may have happened, but it just felt repetitive - like it was the same scenario, setup, and dialogue for every scene. The main character is a violent, abusive brute of a man, so, again, this may have been deliberate. I would definitely have to give it a second watch on my own to reassess it, but currently, this film stands as a perplexing......thing that happened.

[Raven]

Okay, you were accurate about Don Quixote. Just not my cup of tea, I'm afraid. I read a fair portion of it, though. Also, I found out later that the set of translations I was reading from are not necessarily held in esteem.

As for Jane Eyre (or most any thing by the Bronte sisters), I heartily agree. I had to read Jane Eyre in college and I really found it worse than boring. It was actually a bit repellent in my opinion. My lady would argue about how groundbreaking it was in its time, and I would acknowledge its importance given the historical context. Still, not an enjoyable read for me. I don't think I made it all the way through the Scarlet Letter, either, although its importance in American fiction and as a work I couldn't argue.

All that said about the Bronte sisters, though, from what I've heard they had a remarkable personal story and were brilliant women. I visited their home town and region in England and found the general area to be beautiful, desolate, stark, gorgeous, and their town was not exactly a metropolis. Their work made more sense to me when I visited there homeplace.