A 'Da Vinci Code' That Takes Longer to Watch Than Read

Okay, first of all, if you haven't read this review in the NYT, you're missing some of the best comedy writing of the (at the very least) week! (Go, run, read!!)

I read the DaVinci Code back in the day when it had only been on the bestseller's list for weeks counted in the double digits, ah, the old days. It was interesting and intriguing, no doubt, but as A.O. Scott so aptly points out ~ "Dan Brown's best-selling primer on how not to write an English sentence" ~ was really poorly written. This is not to say that I didn't run out and read all his other books. Angels & Demons is by far my favorite, but that may just because I was raised Catholic and have always been enthralled by conclave.

Anyway, I place Dan Brown in the same category as John Grisham: middle aged men living out their fantasies in novels that have decent stories to tell but really ought to be written by someone else with actual writing skill. (Hello, ghostwriter anyone?) My sister's theory about Grisham is that after he sold his first million books, they didn't feel like expending the budget to have someone edit him, either that or his ego dictated that he didn't get edited.

But seriously, was there anyone actually expecting "DaVinci Code" to be another "Cinderella Man" or "Beautiful Mind"? (Wouldn't Russell Crowe have to be involved for that to happen anyway???) Seriously, with all the talk about Tom Hanks' hair (which you must admit bears a very striking resemblance to Dan Brown's, hello? middle aged man fantasy?), there must have been a real lack of meaty content to discuss. We're not THAT shallow a society, are we? Wait, don't answer that.

In all honesty, I may actually see "DaVinci Code," when it's showing three nights in row on TNT! But just to see Ian McKellen who sounds like he was aware of the ridiculousness of the proposition from the beginning and just enjoyed the ride!


ps. If you like the Dan Brown tales but can't bear his writing ~ I recommend Steve Berry and his books: The Amber Room; The Romanov Prophecy; The Third Secret; and The Templar Legacy.