Grade: B+
Stephen King’s It might be my favorite book. It’s a toss-up between that and The Virgin Suicides. I struggle to put my finger on why It means so much to me. Both times I’ve read It, finishing the book felt like saying goodbye to some long-time meaningful friends who I spent a summer with and went to war with. I admire the tangible feeling of camaraderie the book conjures. It’s a beautiful tribute to friendship. The first 15 pages alone could be its own short story. I had fun realizing what character I’d most like to play, and which one I’d probably be cast in. The novel has a couple of bits that I really enjoyed, and if you know me well enough, you’ll know exactly what they are. I can imagine re-reading it every year.
When it comes to film versions of King books, director Andy Muschietti’s It Chapter Two is not as strong as Stand By Me or The Shawshank Redemption, but I think is on equal footing with Misery and the original Pet Sematary. It is the most indelible movie I’ve seen this year. I finally saw It Chapter One a few days ago, and liked it slightly better than ITc2, but I’d award both the same grade. The story is so voluminous that it necessitated a two-part TV miniseries (in 1990) and then had to be split up into two feature films (in 2017 and 2019). The story takes place in Derry, Maine, where an evil being that lives in the sewers preys on children and teenagers. The most common physical form It takes is a clown. Pennywise the Dancing Clown. It can read minds, conjure up smells like popcorn and cotton candy, and can appear anywhere – often only visible to kids. It feeds for a few months, goes into hibernation, then comes back every 27 years or so. Interesting that it was 27 years in between the miniseries and first movie. Will there be another version out when I’m in my mid-60s?
Chapter One takes us on the first journey of the self-proclaimed Losers Club, a group of 7 pre-teen friends. Finn Wolfhard (from Stranger Things) is a highlight. It ends with a big battle, where they think they have killed It, and then they make a promise to each other that if these mysterious child deaths and disappearances ever start happening again, they would all come back to Derry and kill It for good. Chapter Two takes place 27 years later, when they are adults, in the neighborhood of age 40, called back to Derry to once again do battle with Pennywise. Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader (as the adult version of the role played by Wolfhard) are the highlights. The 1990 miniseries is hokey and hasn’t aged well, plus it was on regular TV, where you can’t get away with showing and saying as much. By bringing It to the big screen, you can take more risks. There are many subtle differences from the book, but the characters’ ultimate destinations remain the same. It Chapter Two has a fun, well-played cameo, and a character has a “secret” that is unfolded slowly, subtly, and provides fascinating possibilities with subtext. I loved experiencing both chapters within 72 hours, and while nothing can replicate the stakes and magnitude of the source material, these are worthy representations of the book that everyone involved – much less King himself – should be darn proud of.
Grade: B+
Film Reviews by Mark 
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