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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Juliet, Naked in Books
Jul 30, 2019
A little dull
When you think Nick Hornby, you usually think a funny, witty romantic comedy similar to his bigger hits like High Fidelity and About a Boy. Unfortunately Juliet, Naked doesn’t quiet meet up these rather high standards.
It’s well written which you’d definitely hope for from Nick Hornby, however it’s usually dull and rather long winded. The characters often go off into these dreary and long internal monologues that make this a bit of a slog. Annie and Tucker are fairly likeable characters but yet neither of them really stand out or make for a highly intriguing story. The plot itself while it sounds interesting, doesn’t actually play out as entertaining and fun as you’d think and the characters don’t really help much. The film has changed nearly everything in this book, especially the main events, and for once I don’t mind. The film has actually made this story a lot more entertaining for the most part, and those of you who know me on here know I won’t often admit that a film is better than the original book!
It’s well written which you’d definitely hope for from Nick Hornby, however it’s usually dull and rather long winded. The characters often go off into these dreary and long internal monologues that make this a bit of a slog. Annie and Tucker are fairly likeable characters but yet neither of them really stand out or make for a highly intriguing story. The plot itself while it sounds interesting, doesn’t actually play out as entertaining and fun as you’d think and the characters don’t really help much. The film has changed nearly everything in this book, especially the main events, and for once I don’t mind. The film has actually made this story a lot more entertaining for the most part, and those of you who know me on here know I won’t often admit that a film is better than the original book!
Melanie Caldicott (6 KP) rated The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year in Books
Apr 29, 2021
Townsend has a style which reminds me of Nick Hornby with the bittersweet humour and canny observations of the human condition and society.
This is an interesting book which raised lots of questions for me but didn't reach any conclusions. Why are we here? What it feels like to be taken for granted. How we often settle for second-best in life.
There is a lot of sadness in the characters of this book, centring around the melancholy of Eva. Yet Townsend peppers her book with plenty of chuckles to keep the book enjoyable and compelling
This is an interesting book which raised lots of questions for me but didn't reach any conclusions. Why are we here? What it feels like to be taken for granted. How we often settle for second-best in life.
There is a lot of sadness in the characters of this book, centring around the melancholy of Eva. Yet Townsend peppers her book with plenty of chuckles to keep the book enjoyable and compelling
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Juliet, Naked (2018) in Movies
Jul 13, 2019
Not up to Nick Hornby’s usual standards
Nick Hornby’s books are marvellous, so adapting them into films is an obvious choice for getting a sure fire hit (a la About a Boy). However sadly this doesn’t quite work for Juliet, Naked.
The plot itself is fine, fairly interesting yet doesn’t appears to be very in depth and i feel like there’s probably a lot missing in this that was in the book. It’s a good idea, just not very well executed and a little dull. It tries for humour but isn’t particularly funny and the romance side is a little lacking too sadly. I’ve always liked Ethan Hawke and he’s good in this but perhaps a little underused, and Rose Byrne is good but her accent is definitely a bit dodgy! Not too sure what was going on with Chris O’Dowd though, I’m not his biggest fan anyway but I found him particularly irritating in this but that may have just been his character. It’s a shame really that this film appears to be lacking all of the usual magic you’d see with Nick Hornby. Think I’ll just go read the book.
The plot itself is fine, fairly interesting yet doesn’t appears to be very in depth and i feel like there’s probably a lot missing in this that was in the book. It’s a good idea, just not very well executed and a little dull. It tries for humour but isn’t particularly funny and the romance side is a little lacking too sadly. I’ve always liked Ethan Hawke and he’s good in this but perhaps a little underused, and Rose Byrne is good but her accent is definitely a bit dodgy! Not too sure what was going on with Chris O’Dowd though, I’m not his biggest fan anyway but I found him particularly irritating in this but that may have just been his character. It’s a shame really that this film appears to be lacking all of the usual magic you’d see with Nick Hornby. Think I’ll just go read the book.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated About a Boy (2002) in Movies
Feb 16, 2019
Heartwarming and funny
You can’t really go wrong with a Hugh Grant film based on a Nick Hornby book. Hugh Grant is his usual lovable, charming foppish self and the perfect person to play Will. Nicholas Hoult is great as Marcus and truly an up and coming star when this first came out. The rest of the supporting cast too are good, but it really is all about Will and Marcus. The plot is a little silly but is pretty much your almost typical British rom-com type film, but it stands out thanks to the funny and heartwarming script. It’s got enough serious moments in it too to not make it too silly either.
An altogether lovely and wonderful British film that may be over 16 years old now, but definitely stands the test of time and is worth a watch.
An altogether lovely and wonderful British film that may be over 16 years old now, but definitely stands the test of time and is worth a watch.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Juliet, Naked (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
If there's one thing you can guarantee it's that Nick Hornby can write a good book that turns into a good movie. While they never usually hit my favourites list they're always consistent.
This year has seen the romcom take a step back to something more traditional, and I'm loving it. So many have been more about the comedy, but while this one is funny it's very much focused on the relationships.
The movie opens with Duncan's video that sets up part of the background really well and goes a long way to explaining his life's obsession. What follows is a really well implemented flow with the voice overs mixed in.
I went off and read some comments people had been writing about some of my thoughts on Juliet, Naked. It made me remember that a film like this is only ever as good as your own personal experience. It depicts mild obsession in such a realistic way. Watching Chris O'Dowd reactions to Annie and then later Tucker was really on point, and as his behaviour starts to really cause the split between him and Annie her reaction too was just right. In fact I felt the three of them were brilliant on screen throughout.
As a focus for the film, Annie is a wonderful character. Rose Byrne really brings an honesty out of her. You can feel her exacerbation with Duncan's behaviour, her nervousness around Tucker as well as her joy and sadness. That accompanied with the way Tucker changes around her is really beautiful to watch.
Overall there wasn't much to grumble about in this film... but... there's always a but! I didn't feel that the supporting cast were quite as essential. Annie's sister was a little over the top for me, and the diversion around Duncan's affair didn't really match up to the calibre of the rest of the film either.
What you should do
It's definitely one to watch, and remember to watching into the credits!
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I actually wouldn't mind taking home my own Tucker Crowe.
This year has seen the romcom take a step back to something more traditional, and I'm loving it. So many have been more about the comedy, but while this one is funny it's very much focused on the relationships.
The movie opens with Duncan's video that sets up part of the background really well and goes a long way to explaining his life's obsession. What follows is a really well implemented flow with the voice overs mixed in.
I went off and read some comments people had been writing about some of my thoughts on Juliet, Naked. It made me remember that a film like this is only ever as good as your own personal experience. It depicts mild obsession in such a realistic way. Watching Chris O'Dowd reactions to Annie and then later Tucker was really on point, and as his behaviour starts to really cause the split between him and Annie her reaction too was just right. In fact I felt the three of them were brilliant on screen throughout.
As a focus for the film, Annie is a wonderful character. Rose Byrne really brings an honesty out of her. You can feel her exacerbation with Duncan's behaviour, her nervousness around Tucker as well as her joy and sadness. That accompanied with the way Tucker changes around her is really beautiful to watch.
Overall there wasn't much to grumble about in this film... but... there's always a but! I didn't feel that the supporting cast were quite as essential. Annie's sister was a little over the top for me, and the diversion around Duncan's affair didn't really match up to the calibre of the rest of the film either.
What you should do
It's definitely one to watch, and remember to watching into the credits!
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I actually wouldn't mind taking home my own Tucker Crowe.