‘Sweet Valley High’: Movie News & Thoughts on Old vs. New
If you have not yet read the news, Diablo Cody has made a deal with Universal to write and produce a film adaptation of the Sweet Valley High book series. Why do I care about this news? First, I have a new found adoration of Diablo Cody after seeing Jennifer’s Body. There were a lot of lukewarm reviews, but I thought the film was fabulously entertaining. Second, and most importantly, the SVH books defined my childhood and adolescence–I was obsessed. I have boxes of them in my parents garage, just waiting to trigger a bout of nostalgia at some future date. Sigh. Don’t hate–those books were just a fixture of the 1980s and early 1990s for me. I have been experiencing a slow burn of excitement all day, ever since I read the news this morning, but I wanted to wait to post until I had time to put together my thoughts. My excitement was intensified when I read on Diablo Cody’s twitter that the proposed film will be set in the 1980s:
“Frankie says relax: Sweet Valley High is set in the ’80s. Don’t feel like brokering some deal with T-Mobile to give Enid a Sidekick.”
Diablo later tweeted:
“Sweet Valley High characters are tweeting at me. I’m having a nerdgasm. @BetsyMartin @CaraWalker @BrucePatman @ToddWilkins“
There was also a comment by the screenwriter that she is a Jelizabeth, which is like totally my new identity. Wow. This is the movie that I’ve been waiting for since I was probably eight years old, and it’s turning me into my pre-teen self. Now excuse me while I go follow all the Sweet Valley characters on Twitter.
According to the Hollywood Reporter:
“Cody’s formative years were informed by the books, which centered on the lives of two teenage girls, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, who lived in the fictional town of Sweet Valley, Calif. Jessica was the more conniving and materialistic of the sisters, and usually needed help from the more practical Elizabeth when her schemes went awry.
The series, created by Francine Pascal, made its debut in 1983, publishing 150-plus books with more than 60 million copies in print. The last one came out January 2003.”
I stopped reading the books sometime during my high school years, so I’m shocked the series kept on releasing new titles up to 2003, and someday I may have to check out the ones I missed.
Unfortunately, all the news is not good. In searching the web for further news, I stumbled upon the re-released version of the series (cover shown to the right), published in April 2008. Barnes & Noble offers a preview on its site, so I took a look. Oh, the horror. My eyes, my eyes! They have desecrated the novels. In the new version, the twins have gone down a dress size–a perfect size 6, as described in the original series, is no longer deemed skinny enough in the 21st century, so the twins are now noted as size 4s. Not a big deal you say? I think it is. Now the books are blatantly joining in imposing impossibly skinny stereotypes on impressionable young girls. The twins were always shown to enjoy eating burgers and fries, and have a healthy appetite … now, they probably starve themselves on salads, as the Dairi Burger no longer exists.
Also, it’s no longer enough that Todd Wilkins is the star of the basketball team, now he’s also the star football player. I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Todd never played football. Is this another sign of the “nothing is good enough” modern day culture, that takes academic and athletic ambition to crazy and heretofore unreached levels? Or am I just reading too much into it?
The new books have also have added all kinds of new technology to make them seem hip. That works on Gossip Girl, but these books are not Gossip Girl–and I don’t want them to be. To add insult to injury, the familiar looking blond posing as both twins on the new cover is Leven Ramblin, who played the loathsome Riley on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. And that’s not even the worst–there’s a reference to The Fast & the Furious in chapter five. Alas, alack … If the publishers had just left the books as they were, then modern day teens could enjoy them as period romances–I hear they like those.
Click below to read the original press releases:
The Hollywood Reporter | Heat Vision: Diablo Cody adapting ‘Sweet Valley High’.
Variety: Diablo Cody takes on ‘Sweet Valley’.
