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Monkeying Around
Whenever a film comes out that is based on a published novel, you are bound to hear bunches of people coming out saying "I like the book better," and for good reason. In most cases, the characterization and detail that an author can spread liberally over 400 pages is too heavy a load for a screenwriter to condense into 160 pages of dialogue and action beats.
As I searched through the archives of this blog, I realized that I never gave the late TV series Love Monkey the attention I gave it in real life. I adored the show, and am still secretly hoping that I see Tom Cavanaugh back on the screen at the helm of his own series. The show featured a host of fascinating characters, each of whom could have had a whole season dedicated to them through the eyes of Cavanaugh's character. If that much detail could be hinted at in what amounted to a miniseries, certainly you'd see as much breadth of character in the source material, right?
Well, yes and no. "Love Monkey," the source book by first-time novelist Kyle Smith, spends all of its time focusing solely on main character Tom Farrell, in the book an early-thirtysomething headline writer for fictional New York Post clone the Tabloid. Tom is a self-described "manboy," the adolescent in adult's clothing. He ascribes deep personal connections to favorite albums, spends the time he's not at work munching on chocolaty cereal, and has an impressive collection of ex-girlfriends. The book follows Tom through five months in 2001, during which he juggles four women, the most prominent of which is Julia, a vixenish sprite with a killer body and the skill to string Tom along even though she's technically attached. Tom's obsession with Julia is so strong that he can't pay proper attention to the other three girls.
If Tom sounds familiar, it's either because you're a lot like him, or because you've read the character before, either in female form as Bridget Jones or as Rob in "High Fidelity." The connection to the latter is so logical, in fact, that Smith alludes to Nick Hornby's novel right off the bat in his own. "Love Monkey" is unfortunately placed directly in the shadow of "High Fidelity," then, and it can't quite muster the wit or excitement to venture into the sunlight.
Smith's prose is slick and accessible, and his references to pop culture come at the reader rapid-fire, but, save for thematic references to Bob Dylan and Bugs Bunny, none of them manage to stick. The comedy, along with the plot, is so flighty that you would expect the book to derail when Tom experiences 9/11, but the change that he and the women he's chasing go through adds some much-needed heft and intrigue, finally making the characters worth caring about.
Love Monkey is one of those cases where the film medium is more effective than the original is in print. Time allowed character like Shooter, Tom's cocky buddy, and Bran, his date-worthy best friend, to expand into three dimensions, where the book doesn't give them much breathing room except for their relative use to Tom's ends. Nevertheless, Smith's novel is a fun read and, if you've already read "High Fidelity," you should give its American cousin a shot as well.
Rating: * * * of 5
Note: I wanted to read the book partly because of the show, but mostly because of the recommendation of Shallow Center's Tom Durso. His review here.
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