cnycitylady
Disney's adaptation of Natalie Babbitt's beloved childhood novel is not as powerful as it tries to come across as. Winnie is aged so that she and Jamie can have a more romantic story-line and so the heart of the story will be their tragic love for each other. But it is just so unnecessary. The original novel holds true wisdom because this little girl, in the prime of her innocence and childhood youth can see that everlasting life is not all it's cracked up to be and she decides to let time play a part in her decision. But in the movie Winnie is grown and in love with Jamie, so her decision is odd. I for one could not see why she wouldn't be forever happy with the man she loves.That small alteration is about the only difference from book to film, but it is a fatal one. In changing the age of the main character you change the essence of the story and it in turn loses everything that was everlasting about it. This overdone Romeo and Juliet bit is so prosaic that you cannot even really feel bad for the lovers when they are inevitably torn apart by circumstance, distance and eventually, time.This will not be the definitive film version and I eagerly await another go at it. 6/10
ryanshepard92
This movie is absolutely terrible. One of the worst I've ever seen. I honestly don't understand how anyone could possibly like this, but seeing as how so many do, I guess I'll have to explain why.For starters, I am aware that this is based on a book and that the book is probably better. Unfortunately, this movie killed any chances of me reading it. I simply won't be able to. I will just be reminded of this horrific movie.Okay, let's start with the plot. Some guy drinks water out of a random stream that just happens to be located in Middle of Nowhere, USA that makes him immortal. No one else has discovered this stream, no one else bothered to drink it, no animals are now immortal because they drank out of it. No. Out of thousands and thousands of years of this stream's lifetime, absolutely no living thing has bothered to take a swig out of it except for some random family from the 1800's. Anyways, Winnie, 15, ends up being kidnapped and develops Stockholm's Syndrome and falls in love with Jesse, 104, the stereotypical Hollywood bad boy that girls just gush their panties for. There is absolutely nothing creepy about a 104-year-old dating a 15-year-old. Nothing. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Despite the fact that this guy has probably gotten laid so many times he's sick of it, he also develops the hots for a girl who's 89 years his junior. Then comes the terrible part. The "love" scenes. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NO! GOD, SPARE ME! This is the worst dialogue I've ever seen. Ever! And this is coming from someone who's seen Teen Witch, Twilight, Disney Channel, AND the Barbie movies. (please don't ask why) It's just indescribably awful. What on earth was the director thinking? Here are some of the many gems from the movie:"Spend forever with me, Winnie?" "How am I supposed to take you home when I can't make my feet move from this spot? If I could die tomorrow I would, just so I could spend one more night with you.""Winnie: Jesse, don't let go! Jesse: It's OK, it's OK. There's no chance of that, Winnie Foster. I'll never let you go."Somebody kill me! Girls, THIS is why men HATE romance movies! It's not because we aren't romantic, it's not because there's no boobs or explosions, it's not because you have a thing for Edward Cullen, IT'S BECAUSE THEY SUCK! ALL OF THEM! The bland, uninspired plot, the atrocious, ear-bleed-inducing dialogue, the woeful boredom of scene after endless scene filled with absolutely nothing but the characters professing their undying love for each other, even though they just met each other 2 hours ago! Do you now understand? Romance movies are to us, what porn is to you. You don't understand why we like porn, and we don't understand for the life of us how anyone could possibly enjoy romance movies. There's no point in either side trying to reason with each other on this, as we have tried and failed for many years. So let's just agree to strongly disagree. Anyways, back to the plot.Apparently there's something bad about the Tucks' secret being found out. If it's ever discovered that they're immortal, some crazy maniac bent on world domination could find out, and try to kill them so...oh, wait? Seriously, why is this a big secret? Their lives are in no danger! THEY ARE IMMORTAL! So, why are they treating this like it's some big secret? For that matter, why don't they just tell everyone? I'm sure a lot of people would love to be immortal, and all they have to do is drink water from a random stream. Anyways, the Tucks leave forever and Winnie gets over herself and lives to be 100. Apparently, the Tucks could never come back to visit in all of those years. I guess their lives must have been in danger or...oh, wait?Anyways, that about sums it up. The one saving grace is that the movie is relatively short. But those 96 minutes were some of the most excruciating minutes of my life. Minutes that made me want to gouge my eyes out, kill a puppy, and listen to the pleasurable sound of nails on a chalkboard. This is one of the worst movies I've ever seen, if not THE worst.
Kimimela
I had never heard of "Tuck Everlasting" until I stumbled across it here on IMDb while googling around. I saw that it featured Alexis Bledel, one of my favourite actresses. To me, Bledel has always been Rory Gilmore, so "Tuck Everlasting" appealed to me also, because Bledel's role seemed so unlike that of Rory.Keeping an open mind, I searched for the movie, found it and sat down to watch it. And it took my breath away. The story was excellent, and now after I've learned that it's adapted from a novel, I'm wondering whether the script differs much from the book. What struck me as most amazing with this movie is how well cast it was, and how everything fits together. Bledel is fabulous in her role as upper-class Winifred Foster. Just as astounding was Scott Bairstow, playing the cynical Miles Tuck, who on contrary to his optimistic and carefree brother Jesse, knew that the family secret not only is a bliss. The man in the yellow suit, played by sir Ben Kingsley, provides an air for the movie that can only be described as enigmatic. The use of scenery and music also left me profoundly satisfied. The tune from the music box was very enchanting and was used at exactly the right moments.The movie deals with being afraid of death and not being able to die. Who wouldn't wanna live forever, and who isn't afraid of the day when we die? During the last fifteen minutes I had already made up the perfect happy ending for this movie, and when it turned out completely different I wasn't disappointed. What happened, happened, and when I think about it, it was the right thing."Tuck Everlasting" left me pleased, and I would recommend it to anyone. It's got all the right ingredients for a fairy tale drama, and it leaves you thinking... What would you choose?
