People aren't going to forget, let alone forgive.
And the voices of protest that speak out, at first softly, but eventually loudly and proudly are going to be heard for days, even weeks or months to come.
Republicans and Democrats using the debt ceiling to play Russian Roulette while pointing the gun at us?
Nope.
Downgrade of the credit rating of the United States of America for the first time in history?
Uh-uh.
Unparalleled fluctuations in the stock market, putting major dings, dents and crumples in 401K's all over the country?
Nah.
Those are all just scrolls on the bottom of your personal favorite news channel compared to that which can only be described as unspeakable.
The pending remake of "Dirty Dancing".
Admittedly, in the great scheme of things, the news that the beloved 1987 coming of age film, starring a pretty much then unknown Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray, is about to get the "hey, we haven't had an original thought since, say, 1987" treatment doesn't, to paraphrase Bogey, "amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
Financial calamity, social upheaval, planetary disasters of one ilk or another really do trump any more than just a moment's dismay that the next time we see Baby having total faith that Johnny is going to catch and fly her, it won't be Gray having that faith in Swayze.
Kristin Stewart being taught to rumba by Robert Pattinson just isn't gonna make it.
Unless, of course, he rumbas her while saving her from that pesky outbreak of werewolves that Max Kellerman managed to keep in the cabana last time around.
You laugh now.
Don't put it past the Hollywood suits.
The problem with remakes is that they can really only fall into one of two categories.
Sacrilegious.
Superfluous.
If the original being remade has become iconic in the hearts and minds of the masses, then any re-do is going to be an affront to those masses, not to mention the talented people responsible for the original in the first place.
Imagine how Da Vinci would feel if somebody decided to remake the Mona Lisa with a Snooki-esque pucker and wink.
If, on the other hand, the original was mediocre, or even lame, to begin with, any re-do is going to inspire the obvious conclusion.
No matter how many times you crap it out, it's still a pile of poop.
There is, though, a third category of possibility that wanders around the edges of credibility.
What about the idea that had, and still genuinely has, the potential to be a masterpiece but just didn't quite come together the first time around?
Hmmm.
Now that brings to the table the fair argument that it might be worth taking the time and energy to revisit it, assess it, repair the flaws, remold, reshape and then re-issue it for the enjoyment and/or, dare we dream, benefit of the aforementioned masses.
Truth be told, at this moment, there's not a single movie or television series that springs immediately to mind that might fit that bill.
On the other hand, there is something else I think might benefit us all from a review, repair, remold, reshape and re-issue.
It would require a complete overhaul, though. Because a partial fix clearly never gets to the root of the problems that result in the original's failure to succeed time after time after time.
Something tells me, though, that the time might finally be right for just such a complete re-make because the latest surveys indicate that a vast majority of the viewing public think there was genuine merit in the idea while freely admitting they no longer think of the original as even close to sacred.
And the real beauty of this thing is that we don't have to wait for the Hollywood hustlers to come their senses and do this for us.
We can do it ourselves.
By replacing the entire cast of the original.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012.
http://youtu.be/WpmILPAcRQo
No comments:
Post a Comment