Review of On the Road (2012) by Megan T — 14 Jun 2014
They have significantly changed the plot from the book! To me, this ruins the movie - makes it worthless. The film already lacks, with a few brief exceptions, what makes the book worthwhile, that is its poetic language. There are a few spots of narration when we get Kerouac's poetic writing, and that is nice. So to me, seeing the movie was about the plot, and they fundamentally destroyed that.
From the first line (the first line!) they change the plot by the narrator (Sal/Kerouac) saying, "I first met Dean not long after my father died." The book, on the other hand, says, "I first met Dean not long after my wife and I split up." And this divergence from the true author's plot is repeated later in the film when we see Sal typing the book on a scroll he created and it is the wrong (the movie) version.
Why would they do such a thing? I can only conclude that it is to support the other changes they have made to the plot. The film that follows is full of gay activity, not just surrounding Carlo who is gay in the book, (and who represents Allen Ginsberg, whom we know to be gay), but between Dean and Sal to a limited extent, and between Dean and Allen and others to a greater extent. It kind of seemed like a soft gay porno at times. I recommend reading the book instead.
This review of On the Road (2012) was written by Megan T on 14 Jun 2014.
On the Road has generally received mixed reviews.
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