December 16, 2004
By Matt Savelloni
“THE FASTIDIOUS ARE UNFORTUNATE; NOTHING SATISFIES THEM.” – Jean De La Fontaine
THE BAD BEGINNING is the first in the continuing series of children’s books entitled LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. Possessing a very British wit and sensibility, the novelettes are actually the creation of the very American Daniel Handler. But this Yankee scribe has certainly learned his lessons from the masters, particularly Charles Dickens, Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis. Handler is committed to heaping the worst tragedy and misfortune upon the Baudelaire children, Violet, Klaus and Sunny. The fact that they come out the other side intact and ready to face the next series of unfortunate events is not just a credit to their inspirational resolve but to the vast whimsical respect Handler pays to young readers everywhere.
The first volume begins where most other children’s authors fear to tread: the death of the parents. Doubling up on the Bambi effect, Handler knocks off the Baudelaire matriarch and patriarch in the opening of the book as the children play on the beach. They are quickly brought under the care of the Poes, who subject them to itchy clothing, before being shipped off to the resident antagonist: Count Olaf. Presented as a horrific cross between Smeagol and Magwitch, Olaf schemes to get his hands on the Baudelaire cash, which he can only access by swindling the rightful heirs. His plan involves a rather shocking – given the ages involved – ploy to marry Violet.
“TRAGEDY IS WHEN I CUT MY FINGER. COMEDY IS WHEN YOU FALL INTO AN OPEN SEWER AND DIE.” – Mel Brooks
There is much that may be considered shocking in Handler’s works. In fact, I am amazed at the lack of politically correct outrage directed at the Lemony Snicket series. But perhaps that is a testament to Handler’s writing prowess. He is so skillful, almost charming, at presenting tragedy and maudlin tribulation that the audience may be too entertained, too intrigued, to consider the implications. In short order, the Baudelaire children suffer devastating sorrow, physical pains, emotional scars, psychological torment and borderline sexual predatory inclinations. The fact that they not only defeat these affronts but also emerge even more dedicated to virtue and their love for one another elevates Handler’s story from just another magical fantasy into a contemporary Grimm fable. The moral may be immersed in a morass of calamity but it nevertheless flowers in the hearts and minds of the cursed but indomitable Baudelaire clan.
Handler forces readers both old and young to drop their guard. His tales, while lacking the hilarious one-liners, rich characterization and storytelling brio of Rowling’s Potter saga, succeed by going passively over the top. THE BAD BEGINNING imparts the essence of a parable rather than in-depth fiction. Still, Handler understands that the soul of wit is brevity. He doesn’t waste any time sinking the Baudelaire children into another unfortunate event. And riding along with them as they overcome and carry on the memory and impartial devotion of their dear departed brings no uncertain joy.
“IF YOU GREATLY DESIRE SOMETHING, HAVE THE GUTS TO STAKE EVERYTHING ON OBTAINING IT.” – Brendan Francis
It will be interesting to see if the makers of LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS have the courage to deliver Handler’s twisted sensibility to the screen intact. By casting Jim Carrey, they have already tempered the book’s antagonist, who was more menacing than goofy, closer to the tormentors of Dickens’ young heroes in GREAT EXPECTATIONS and OLIVER TWIST than the zany actor who embodied the Grinch, the Mask and Ace Ventura. Still, with $125 million on the line, it should be expected that a bona fide box office draw sits above the title. We can make do with Carrey for now.
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The real success or failure of LEMONY SNICKET will reside with Robert Gordon and Brad Silberling. Gordon once wrote the intriguing romantic black comedy ADDICTED TO LOVE featuring Meg Ryan in an anti-Meg Ryan role and Matthew Broderick as a jilted, obsessed lover. It was flawed but seemed to suggest an incisive new talent was on the scene. Gordon followed that up with the funny but less challenging GALAXY QUEST and then fell into the depths of Hollywood Hell by scripting the nugget of marketing MEN IN BLACK II. He is now charged with adapting Handler’s THE BAD BEGINNING and aspects of other LEMONY SNICKET books for its big screen maiden voyage. Which Gordon will show up? The writer attempting to undermine a-typical celluloid love tropes in ADDICTED TO LOVE? Or the bid-budget gun for hire on MIB II? The answer just may decide the fate of the film.
Also sharing in the risk of this project is Brad Silberling, a veteran TV director who made the leap to theatrical schmaltz with CASPER, CITY OF ANGELS and MOONLIGHT MILE. In other words, there is nothing in his filmography to suggest he is capable of channeling Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton or Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the three directors who should have been handed the reigns to LEMONY SNICKET. I smell something a little too nice, too mainstream to really do the Handler books justice. Then again, if Silberling can generate a film closer to Willy Wonka than the Harry Potter amusement park rides, then perhaps we will see a film more respectful of the allegorical style of Handler’s woeful tales.
“Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering - and it's all over much too soon.” –Woody Allen
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