Books to Movies Week: They Never Should Have Made THAT Into A Movie!

Perhaps they were good books gone bad. Or maybe they were bad books made worse. The bottom line is there are some books that should have never been made into movies.

1. Beloved by Toni Morrison

I'm a fan of Toni, but the first time I picked up Beloved I said, "huh?" and put it down. When I heard it was being made into a movie, I picked it up again, determined to read and fully comprehend it before I ventured into the theater. Again I said, "huh?" I recruited my god sister, a fellow book lover, to go along with me. Now between the two of us, we read over 3,000 books between the 1st and 8th grade (and yes, we're competitive nerds so we tracked it). I figured if I didn't understand what was going on, she would. We both left the theater saying, "huh?" You know when I finally comprehended the story? On the third try and after seeing the movie! No one should have to work that hard to figure out a book or a movie.

2. I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

Second only to Judy Blume in my middle school world, Lois Duncan created a masterpiece with this book. I loved it more than Killing Mr. Griffin (another one of her good books gone bad). I was surprised to find that a movie was being made of the book more than 20 years after it was published. Flipping through cable one night I noticed it was on and decided to give it a watch. And just like that, a book that I loved had gone bad. I can't blame it on Sarah Michelle Gellar or Freddie Prinze, Jr. I'll blame it on whomever did the screenplay. At any rate, it was some kind of horrible.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I know, I know. Critics loved it. The Academy loved it. You may have loved it. You know what I loved? The end. While the book was pretty good, the movie was entirely too long. There was a whole hour that could have been deleted. You know, the part when he was working on the boat and the affair with the older woman? Yeah, that part could have been sliced and saved us all an hour and no one would have been the worse or the wiser. So while the rest of the movie might have been great, I was too irritated about the unnecessary parts that I started getting restless and stopped paying attention. And while Brad Pitt is some amazing eye candy, Kate Blanchett gives me the willies.

I could go on and on, but that's my short list of good books gone bad. What's on your list?