Jen's Writing Journey

I was watching Down with Love last weekend, and it got me thinking about how many movies and TV shows there are about writers. And most of them are a pretty idealized view of writers. Here are some of my favorites.

Down with Love
Whenever I stayed home sick, I watched TBS. Invariably, I saw an episode of Perry Mason followed by a Rock Hudson -Doris Day movie. So I couldn’t help but love this refresh of that franchise–even though the originals are better. The main characters are both writers leading a fabulous and glamorous NYC lifestyle. How many writers in our country’s publishing capitol really live such a fabu lives? Have such great clothes? Have their own tables at expensive restaurants?

Misery and Secret Window
I’ve listed these together because they are both Stephen King stories about writers facing torture. In Misery, the agent of torture is a crazy fan. And in Secret Window [SPOILER ALERT], it is the writer himself. Or corn. I’m not really sure. But these are both fun movies with a lot of twists and turns.

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Dorothy Parker used her pain to create some amazing one-liners. I hope to have one hundredth of the wit that woman had. I find this movie painful to watch. The beginning–when she is the toast of the writing community–is great fun. Sure, she’s drunk all the time, but she is fabulous so who cares. But her star shines less bright and it becomes obvious that her drinking is killing her and her career.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
I hope my life as a writer is never this drug-addled.

Castle
The new show starring Nathan Fillion would have been on my list of mid-season replacements to give a chance even if Fillion hadn’t been playing a writer. I like Fillion, so I’m willing to see at least one episode of any show he is in.

Everybody Loves Raymond
Raymond was a sports writer, but the show rarely focused on him doing his job. The actual act of writing does not lend itself to broad comedy, so that was probably a good choice. The firm middle-class lifestyle of the family was a good representation of a writer’s lifestyle, though.

The Dick Van Dyke Show
Dick and his fellow writers made TV writing look like a heck of a lot of fun. Any TV writers want to weigh in on the accuracy of the portrayal?

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What are your favorites books, TV shows, and movies about the writing life? Which make you cringe?

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