 Whee! Tomorrow we'll start a spoiler thread!Remember, we're supposed to be nice, even to a slavering man-whore like Mark. Remember, too, said slavering man-whore is giving away prizes. So here's today's topic. Happy Hour has been dubbed "a zombie Sex and the City". Which is partially true, especially if you consider, for example, Carrie's first time with Berger, or the very funny episode where Charlotte marries Harry and Carrie sleeps with one of the groomsmen (sorry, but I thought that guy was freaking hilarious. "People...are a bitch." I digress.) Obviously there are differences--even the SATC girls can't come close to Amanda and Wendy for snarky, bitchy fashionista fun. But in what ways is Happy Hour like chick lit? Is it chick lit for the next generation? And if (as I think) it's not enough like chick lit, what could Mark do if he actually set out to write some genuine chick lit? Should all chick lit books be rewritten in the style of Mark? (Geez, imagine Bridget Jones as written by him!) How do Amanda and her friends compare to the SATC girls? Which of Amanda's friends is your favorite? |
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So many questions...so little brainpower.
I've never read chick lit. The closest I probably come is Eric Garcia's satire "Cassandra French's blah blah" which I never actually read. But I owned the rest of his books, so I felt obligated to buy it.
I never actually watched more than two episodes of SATC, either.
So...from someone woefully uninformed about the genre, Mark hit the nail on the head with parodying/replicating the things a man on the street might know/think about the genre.
And I'm not saying that just to be nice. It's too late to start that now.
I can totally see the SATC comparison and find it hysterical...though SATC isn't quite as gruesome. :P
Gil was my favorite among Amanda's friends.
I loved his voice.
I'm a big fan of SATC. Happy Hour is similar in some aspects, but much more gruesome.
Happy Hour is SATC meets Stephen King meets Terry Pratchett. I'm sure I'd classify it as "chick lit."
that should read NOT sure I'd classify it as chick lit.
*headdesk* I completely forgot the NOT
I did an interview for Romantic Times (that was reduced to a single line of input) on the evolution of chick lit, where I argued that if anything, HHotD was a satire in the memoirish style of chick lit.
I think what ened up in print was that everything geared toward women has been influenced by Bushnell's creation.
Though, Amanda's more of a combo of all of the girls, when I think about it. She's probably mostly a Samantha/Miranda hybrid.
I was going to say Amanda and Wendy were more snarky than the SATC girls. I do see the Sam/Miranda influence.
Mark, how many episodes of SATC have you watched and are you a fan of the show?
I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I've seen every episode of SATC.
I thought it was an exceptionally funny show. Particularly the train wreck aspects. Those moments of extreme embarrassment that seem to haunt Carrie.
Fashion roadkill. Hy-fuckin-larious!
Have I seen them all?
Abso-fucking-lutely!
It was a great show and I mourned it's passing.
There is no shame in admitting watching them all. No shame at all.
One more question, Who was your influence for Gil? Is he based on a "real" person or a character? Is he an aspect of you? (well, I believe all our characters carry a bit of us in them...)
They're all a bit of me, you're right, especially Gil. He's inspired by my best friend, Kevin, and how we talk about his relationships. Kevin's filtered into Amanda a bit, as well. His is a wall of self-esteem that I suspect masks the insecurity.
He's going to kill me if he reads this.
*giggles*
Hopefully, he won't be too hard on you if he does read this.
I have a character based on my sister. She would kill me if she knew.
Oh no. He knew instantly when he read it that he was in there.
What he'll be irritated with is my analyzing him publicly!
I'd rather have Amanda and Wendy's fabulous snarkyness than SATC, although I really liked that show.
And do you even have to ask? Wendy's my favorite. God, what a bitch. Love her!
I've seen every episode of SATC numerous times. If SATC trivia were an Olympic sport I'd have a gold medal, baby.
I too loved Wendy, but I also loved Mr. Kim. I just thought he was so adorable.
I ADORED!! Mr. Kim. He was just too cute for words. :)
I've not seen every episode of SATC but I have to admit to becoming addicted. But I don't have cable so I got random reruns.
Personally my fav is cardboard baby. *shrug* What can I say? I'm twisted.
Of HHOTD's characters, I'd have to say Wendy. She was vapid when she wanted to be. A bitch most of the time. And she just had good lines. Yeah. Wendy. Of course, it's also my goal in life to be the hot blonde bitch in every group, so she's now my role model. ;)
I love Wendy, as well. She was the answer to a question I had for myself. If I was a sentient zombie would I curtail my desire for junk food?
Clearly the answer is no.
Mr. Kim is Caroline's favorite character and I'm happy to say that he's a big part of Road Trip of the Living Dead but I'm not saying how.
Call me a tease.
I really liked Ricardo. I wanted to know more about him. Like how he came to own the "Well" or how he became a vamp.
I too have seen every episode of SATC at least twice.
Synde
I am a complete idiot. Ricardo is a zombie..I can haz tired...
stupid work!
synde
Having never watched SATC (just have never been interested), Amanda struck me as a grown-up American zombie version of Ja'mie King from Summer Heights High (coming soon to an HBO and BBC3 near you). Because they both talk often of how hot they are. Both I can't remember if anyone made Amanda feel "less hot" ;-)
Wendy was my favourite secondary character :-)
Have a lovely day! :-)
I didn't watch SATC, so I'll have to leave that part alone. But it astonished me how much Happy Hour felt like Chick Lit. Can Chick Lit be written by a guy? I thought that was against the rules. ;) But if it can, Mark's totally pulled it off.
Bridget Jones would totally get eaten.
"It's a cardboard baby. It's funny, right? The guy at the store said it was."
I did love that.
I have never *gasp* seen SATC. So, I cannot comment about that aspect of Amanda's character. As for my favorite friend, I think it is Wendy. I mean come on she did hook Amanda up w/ mortuary make up and Matsuki's (sp). That is real friendship there.
Chick lit is pretty funny stuff, and I am a better person for having read it. Mark has taken it to an all new level. This is the new generation of CL and I like it!