11.22.63
Warner Bros. Home Video
Adapting Stephen King can be a tricky thing. For my money it is best done in a longer format on TV and preferably on cable. This mini-series ran on HULU and making me very happy was released on DVD.
The book was great and loads of fun but I’m going to look at this as it’s own entity.
The tale opens in a small town in Maine with High School English teacher Jake Epping (James Fanco) signing divorce papers and kind of wondering about his life. A friend of his Al (played by Chris Cooper) who runs a diner gives him a shock by developing cancer overnight. With a promise of having all revealed Jake meets him the next day and gets the shock of his life when Al shoves him into a closet and he ends up in the same place except in 1960.
Upon returning to the present Jake has a long talk with Al. Turns out Al has been using this portal to rty and save JFK from being assassinated. Too sick to continue he shares everything he has learned with Jake who decides to try it himself. The fun caveat is that when you return only 2 minutes have passed in the now and if you go in again you reset everything back.
Back in the past armed with a notebook full of information Jake takes on this task and along the way has more than a number of strange experiences. Eventually he sets himself up to do what he needs to do and as part of his cover teaches at a small Texas town high school. He meets a great girl and falls in love and of course things start to get complicated. Along the way Jake meets Oswald, Jack Ruby, and many of the players in this real life drama that took place.
I won’t give away the ending but I will say it is for me a very Stephen King ending which I loved.
There are hints of a sequel and I have no idea hwo they would do that but if they do, I’m all in.
Jon
