Another day, another advice book adaptation. Plans to turn 4th grader Alex Greven's relationship guide, How to Talk to Girls, into a feature film keep trucking along, with two scribes (Ben Karlin and Stu Zicherman) officially signing on to write the flick. I know I'm supposed to look at such a film and think, Aww, shucks, ain't it a cute that a book schooling jaded adults in the ways of the world will hit the big screen? But nope. I can't. Maybe it's because I can't believe that any nine year old could actually spout out good dating advice, since most male youngsters roped me into conversation in elementary school by punching me in the shoulder and calling me "Kate Wart." Or maybe it's the fact that last night's I'm a Celebrity... has made me lose all faith in humanity in general. But, more likely, it's probably because this genre hasn't been executed too well as of late, what with He's Just Not That Into You and Fireproof bombing with critics.
But that's not to say that How to Talk to Girls can't be successful. Just look at some of the more winning advice-book adaptations: Mean Girls and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask). Of course, we're not going to see a nine year old's piece of work adapted into a racy, eccentric, Woody Allen masterpiece. But with Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy at the helm, we could see a fun family movie that I can only hope comes complete with pocket-sized versions of Owen Wilson. (I'm joking, of course. Maybe.) And there's another reason to be hopeful: Screenwriter Karlin is a writer and executive producer of The Daily Show. That, thankfully, makes me believe that Girls won't take itself too seriously and turn into some form of precocious schlock starring Abigail Breslin and Patrick Dempsey.
Thoughts, PopWatchers? Are you excited for Girls? Do you, like me, think Hollywood should get into the habit of turning advice books into movies as rarely as possible?
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