We saw a trailer for Hoot last week and it reminded me that I wanted to read some Carl Hiaasen (it did not make me want to see the movie). And lo-and-behold I had Strip Tease lying around.
Is there something in the water down there in Florida? Hiaasen's books seem to be firmly rooted in the Elmore Leonard model -- huge casts of odd characters trying to make their way through the depths of borderline-criminal Florida society. (Come to think of it -- Dave Barry's Big Trouble and Tricky Business were the same -- it must be the water.) But there are much worse models to follow and Hiaasen does a masterful job with this story of the chaos that ensues when a US Congressman tries to defend the honor of a stripper by nearly beating a man to death with a champagne bottle.
Oh, and speaking of movies, I didn't realize until I was nearly done with the book that it had been adapted into the Demi Moore movie of the same title. Was that movie terrible or just lackluster?-- it's been so long since I've seen it that I forget. No matter, the book is neither.
Dan Telfer
That movie was horrible beyond horrible. Supposedly Demi Moore was inspired by the book and got breast implants before filming. I don't remember a lot of the specifics, other than thinking it wasn't nearly as smart a movie as it thought it was.
Fuzzy Gerdes
Which is extra dumb if that's why she got implants, because the book reiterates many times that Erin (the main character) is a great dancer but has small breasts.
DanIzzo
I read an interview with Hiaasen (or perhaps saw him on 60 minutes, possibly both) and he talked about how Florida really is overpopulated with crazy people. Crooked politicians, coked up model wannabes, swamp land developers, the whole shebang.
Dan Telfer
Okay, I looked it up. She got breast implants long before this movie, but Demi apparently did a lot of press saying how empowering she thought the role was, the character, etc and it was the press who handed her head back to her, bringing up the very point you made about her having implants and playing a supposedly flat chested character.
tricia
So, the movie HOOT was mentioned, then breast implants. Hmmmmm A movie about endangered hooters.