Holes by Louis Sachar
Book v Movie Review by: Penny Garcia
The book holes written by Louis Sachar follows a boy named Stanley Yelnats and how one accident leads him to stay at Camp Green Lake. At camp Stanley makes friends, enemies, and digs many holes. However he also finds a mystery that leads him to find more about the camp and his family's past. In 2003 this cult classic book was turned into a Disney live action movie directed by Andrew Davis following a coming of age theme. While some might say that there isn't a whole lot of difference between the book and its movie adaptation, I would disagree. The movie is better. The book is good, but the movie makes the characters and their stories so compelling, by better fleshed out characters, better dialogue.
The book has many positives in terms of story telling. It has good pacing, a good main character who brings us along the story as our narrator, and details within the book that foreshadows clues for the mystery we are solving alongside our main character.
Louis Sachar wrote Stanley to be a young shy boy who just wants to be respected by the other boys at camp. Throughout the book, Stanley grows to become stronger and more confident in his actions, where at the beginning of the story he stood around and waited for others to lead the way.
The movie also has its positives. The characters are fleshed out more, and instead of being told about the characters through Stanley's eyes, we are able to make our own ideas about the characters through their actions. This leads to more compelling characters and a more satisfying ending to their stories. Specifically the way we see Stanley and the character Zero interact throughout the movie. Davis has made their friendship more prominent in the movie than what it was in the book. Their friendship only makes the conflict so much more meaningful and the story so much more compelling. At 1:13:30 in the movie we see a scene where Stanley screams Zero's name. This scene was never in the book, but I like this change because it shows us the importance of their friendship as well as making the coming of age theme stronger.
The book's adaptation into the movie keeps most of the contents the same, the coming of age theme, the characters, the overall story. But one of the biggest differences from the book compared to the movie is when Zero tells Stanley how he used to be homeless and his home situation. In the book this occurs on page 189, but it happens much sooner in the movie at 1:05:25. I think Davis made this change to expand on Stanley and Zeros friendship, as well as Zeros character. We get to feel closer to Zeros character earlier on because of the information given to us. This part made me empathize with Zero sooner and like his character even more, making it better than the book and more enjoyable for the viewer.
A specific scene that was close to the book in the movie was when we got to meet and get a closer look at the Warden and her deal. In both the book and the movie we meet the warden because Stanley was accused of stealing some sunflower seeds at camp. The Warden lets Stanley and one of counclers, Mr. Sir, into her cabin. In the cabin, we get to see clues and details inside that were never mentioned in the book. We also get a more romantic relationship between the Warden and Mr. Sir in the movie that wasn't in the book either. The line the warden says from the book “I liked it better when you smoked” (Page 91) was changed to “I liked you better when you smoked” (1:57:25) I liked this difference because it made their dynamic much more interesting and led me to ask questions about their history while also keeping the Warden as a Girlboss.
Another reason why the movie is better is because the characters are just more entertaining to follow. Holes has a big ensemble cast of guys and they all had their own personalities and character arcs. In the book we get the leader X-Ray who everyone follows (P72), the big tough, but nice guy Armpit (P20), and animal loving guy Magnet (56) plus others. While they were fun characters in the book, they are much more memorable in the movie. In the movie the boys got to be everyday boys that would use the dialogue that typical teens would use. One of my favorite examples of this was when Magnet says “Get some water dawg, get some water. Here comes the water truck man.” to Stanley (21:28). I found this dialogue super funny because I can totally see myself using the same slang that Magnet used.
One of my favorite examples of how the guys shined in the movie was Armpit and his character arc. Throughout the movie Armpit relentlessly tells everyone that his name is Armpit and not to call him by his real name Theodore (12:20). The actor who plays Armpit, (18 year old Byron Cotton), puts up a tough front by making his body language bigger and stiffer, But his caring attitude and kindness shows his personality otherwise. By the end of the story Armpit tells Stanley to call his mom for him and to tell her that Theodore was sorry ( 1:44:45 ). At this point you can see Bryon Cotton showing soft regret in armpits eyes which is a total contrast from the tough and tuff Armpit we've seen throughout the movie. I love this moment because it lets the other secondary characters grow with their own arcs and stories that we didn't get to see in the book. It also really adds to the coming of age theme.
The story hole is intended for pre-teens who want a silly and thrilling story with twists, turns, and clues. If you start with the book and move on to the movie, you will find a fun story that younger audiences will enjoy. The movie is great for a family movie night, that even older audiences will find themselves engaged too! If you like brotherly dynamics, child labor, or digging holes, this is the story for you.
I enjoyed both the book and the movie, both made me laugh at the dialogue and gasp at the mystery unfolding but the movie is better. The characters dynamics, and the story and how it's told is so much more fun to watch play out. I think you should watch holes if you're looking for a silly fun story with great characters and a story that will keep you guessing what's going to happen next.
