Went to the Movie Theater

for the first time in a long time...to see

One for the Money

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, first novel, as a movie. I was excited to see that this was being filmed, I love those books (funniest things in the english language after Wodehouse), but I wasn't too sure about the casting.

Katherine Heigl looks just right as Plum. Debbie Reynolds was good as the kooky grandmother (although I think Ruth Gordon of the 70s was more the right thing). The actors playing Ranger and Morelli I'm not so sure about. Ranger needed to look/be a little more mysterious, and Morelli needed to look less scruffy. (It could be that I misremember how they started out in the first book, been a few years since I read that) Vinnie Plum seemed less weasel-y than I think he should have...we didn't meet or hear about some standard things (grandma's interest in going to the funeral parlor for viewings and cookies), but Stephanie's car did properly explode at one point (this especially is a theme in the books), she had to go to Stark Street several times (a recurring location for trouble of one sort or another). They did do voice-over for what Stephanie is thinking, which is great for filling-in things that need a little explanation but not necessarily screen time.

Apparently this story had been made for TV ten years ago--I wasn't aware at the time, hadn't read the books yet; no idea whether that was any good or not.

I hope this did well enough that more are made...the characters take time to develop properly.