For Christmas, my high school friend gave me a copy of The Outsiders annotated with their favorite parts. They thought it was funny that I have never read the book because I went through a period of time where I only watched Grease and Grease 2, repeatedly. That is a time in my life that I can’t really explain, nor will I. Alas, I never read the book or watched the movie in my 19 years. So, this last break I decided to change that. I did finish the book in one sitting, we had some long drives to and from places this holiday season, and have to say I was really good. Like anyone who has read a book and heard there was a movie, I jumped at the thought that it could be a bad rendition of the novel.
With my extensive experience with bad novel remakes, I’m looking at you Percy Jackson movies, I figured I would be a good judge of this 1983 film. Color me surprised when this movie was almost exactly like the book, a perfect remake if you discount some minor appearance changes of the characters. Also, this cast was STACKED? Some heavy hitters of the 1980s and 1990s male heartthrobs. Seeing Ralph Macchio so young made me want to rewatch the Karate Kid movies. And don’t worry guys, after watching this and Dirty Dancing I understand the Swayz-craze.
Like I said before, this was a mostly spotless remake of the book and you could tell the director and team took care in retelling the story to a larger audience. The casting for each character was spot on and gave them more concrete looks and personas to associate with the book. Ponyboy’s story is one that still resonates today even when we don’t have the Greasers and Socs as cliques in 2021. Ponyboy learning that people are people no matter their status and that a person should be judged on their individual actions is well set up in the book and movie. Even as (Spoiler for an almost 40-year-old movie) Johnny and Dallas don’t make it out in the end, one passing away as a hero and the other so distraught by the other leaving that he inevitably dies as a criminal, Ponyboy has to search through his grief if he should follow a life trying to get out of a place that groups people into categories or if he should listen to Dallas and toughen up before life knocks him down. The ending is mostly ambiguous, with Ponyboy writing his end-of-term paper as the book we are reading, or the story of events in the movie. I think the ending was a good circle back to the beginning as well as the other circular themes in the book and movie.
9/10 wish Dallas had lighter hair…
Firstly, I am inexplicably pleased that you have finally read this masterpiece! I had to read this my freshman year English class in high school and to do this day, it is one of the only school-assigned books I genuinely enjoyed. I fully agree with you that while the culture that was thriving and present during the time of the book/movie may not be still present today, the characters story will arguably always be relevant and relatable. I also can relate to your shock/surprise to how similar the movie was to the book. Sometimes with books like these, when they get made into a movie everything changes and it becomes a different story but I found myself immediately connecting who each character was and what would happen next. Love that you choose to write about this book/movie:)
As ironic as it is for someone who plans to write his own passion blog about fictional stories, I often find it hard to pick up new stories to read or watch. I have this fear that I may find myself wasting time that could be reserved for a better story (… or more productive activities), so a book, movie, or TV show must really catch my attention for me to give it a fair shot.
From the impression you give of the book, as a combination of a coming of age story, tragedy, and a personal introspection into past events, I reckon you should pursue marketing if this book isn’t top-tier.
Oh Kenny, I always love reading your passion blogs. Your style of writing is an exquisite balance of film analysis and humor to keep the readers engaged. Somehow, I never had to read The Outsiders for school, so I never did. But you’ve convinced me to give it a read when I have the chance. It’s very interesting that you enjoyed the movie so much after reading the book, because as you mentioned, that is not the case for most book-movie pairs. I also appreciate the 9/10 based on you wishing Dallas had lighter hair.
Your movie reviews make me smile every week. We have such similar opinions and enjoy the same things. Two words: Ralph. Macchio. His performance in this movie makes me cry every time. The man has always been a heartthrob too. The story is timeless, and I’m so happy you were able to watch it!
I glanced back at your All Too Well short film review, but that’s a comment for another time (I would go on forever).
As an avid book lover, I am so glad that you started off this blog about the book. I too have seen many movies that have little to nothing to do with the book that it is based on. I like the way that you highlighted the production and making of the movie in your review instead of just going over plot points to reel in your audience, I might just give the book and movie a try myself.
Interesting! I love your analysis. Keep up the great work!