WARNING: SPOILERS (for novel and movie)
So, prior to seeing the movie, I read he book by Garth Stein. I adored the novel and even added it to my list of best books. It's witty, deep, and emotionally powerful. The movie carried the same weight as the novel. It was charming, sad, and amusing the whole way through. The cinematography and editing was wonderful, with only minimal awkward cuts and continuities (funny enough, the dog had the least continuity errors). The casting and acting were also tremendous as the actors were perfect for their roles and held the same weight as how I pictured them in the book. One aspect of the production that really surprised me was the special effects, which were excellent. There were a few moments where there were CGI sequences due to hallucination and metaphorical double exposure of memories going through Enzo's mind. They looked excellent.
However, I have gripes with the film. I loved the book and expected the movie to omit parts of the book but they took out the wrong parts. A few minor examples are of Denny playing video games to get a feel for the racetracks before he actually drives on them, a scene where the Zebra was essentially molesting the other stuffed animals (it was changed to ripping them apart), and some aspects of Denny struggling with alcohol. These things were missed but do not make or break the movie.
What makes or breaks the movie is removing the entire subplot of a semi-incestual false accusation of child molestation. In the novel, Denny is going on a road trip across the country and kindly takes his wife's niece along with him as she is going to a school in the same direction. The niece is 15-years old and has a huge crush on Denny and mistakes his kindness for flirting. One night while in a motel, she takes his clothes off while he's sleeping and gets naked herself. She attempts to have sex with him but he wakes up before anything could happen, shuts it down, and yells at her. His scorning isn't necessarily too harsh though. He has some sentiment in being cold but she is so upset and hurt that she refuses to accept the situation.
Later on, after Denny's wife dies, the grandparents try and gain custody of Denny's daughter. Soon, they find out about the incident in the motel, but from the perspective of the niece, who spins it around to make it seem like Denny made moves on her. The grandparents use this as leverage and Denny is accused of molesting a child, thus not being able to have custody of his child. This subplot was replaced in the movie by Denny accidentally knocking the grandfather over and being sued for physical harassment. This change is so detrimental to the power of the story, because in the novel, Denny tries to go to his wife's funeral but is kicked out and forced to watch the ceremony from the top of a hill. He's seen as a pedophile and treated like a villain by many and he can't even attend his wife's funeral.
At this point, Denny slips into an alcoholic depression and becomes very low and broken. This is much more powerful considering the circumstances and in the film, it seems like Denny's depression is as significant as a mood swing, especially as this moment in his life is rushed in the film and resolved very quickly. Changing this aspect of the film really watered it down and made it family-friendly, which means the rating is PG instead of PG-13 or R, which means more people can see it and more money can be made. It's a very commercialized or diluted decision and whether it was for money or not, it makes the story less critical and more standardized. This false accusation story isn't told entirely often and it's a difficult and deep problem to deal with. It should be perused and analyzed more but instead of talking about hard topics or doing something different, we're given a situation where a man's life is almost ruined for accidentally knocking someone over. This makes the film lack substance and makes the book really important.
I understand that the film is an adaptation, a different account of the story, and a new perspective. So, of course, there will be changes. I also understand that dealing with minors sexually in a film is not easy and that this topic may deter more people from seeing it. However, this change makes me see the film as a good movie and the book as an excellent book. If the filmmakers value profit and a wider audience over quality and critical themes, then so be it; I'll stick with the book.
