MovieChat Forums > The Stand (2020) Discussion > They took out the Lincoln Tunnel scene?!

They took out the Lincoln Tunnel scene?!

posted 4 years ago by jekporkins (1935)
3 replies | jump to latest

I can't believe it - that was the absolute best part of the book. It was terrifying and horrific.

In fact, the whole NYC part was uninspiring. We only get one shot of the city after the plague as they leave town. This is a much more intimate portrayal of the book than I was expecting.

One of my other favorite scenes from the book is Lloyd's introduction where he and his buddy are partying and robbing places, and there is a huge violent shootout. This one feels lackluster in comparison.

A positive is the guy who is playing Larry Underwood is great. He's the best part of this show so far.

[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 4 years ago

> A positive is the guy who is playing Larry Underwood is great.

I said elsewhere that it looked to me like they were trying to reframe Harold and Fran; to make Fran more dislikable, etc. I got the same impression with Larry. We met Wayne Stukey, Larry's mother, Rita Blakemoor, and the Oral Hygenist. All were redone in ways to make Larry less of a jerk. Understandable. I'm not sure if it would be possible to make Larry really true to the book without making him such an ass at the beginning that it would be difficult for the audience to overcome their initial dislike by the story's end.

Anyway, that was my impression. But we disagreed earlier about Harold in Maine -- what did you think about what they've done to Larry?

(I promised I would rewatch the first episode, but was unable to. When I tried to I got an error message from CBS All Access. And it seems I can't watch it on my computer at all, I have to use my iPad. I'm not impressed.)

They've changed Flagg too. There's none of the jolly humor he had in the book or in the 1994 miniseries. I can't imagine what purpose that serves.

[–] jekporkins (1935) 4 years ago

Regarding Larry... they completely changed the character. Larry was a massive one-hit wonder burnout who had to run from LA to NYC to hide at his mother's because he was broke, destitute, and owed drug dealers money (IIRC). He was completely self-centered.

I didn't really get that vibe with this character. They did hint at his sketchy morals with stealing the song and how he ditched his one-night stand. In this Larry is much more relaxed, self-confident, and affable. I wish they had kept the original character in there because his arc is fantastic.

What I was referring to in the comment you copied was about the actor's performance. He has a good presence and I want to see more of him. He carried that episode fully on his shoulders. I'm actually shocked at that because Stu right now is a background character.

Regarding Flagg, I dunno about him yet. I didn't get much of a sense of him from the one scene with Lloyd. I didn't find him humorous or menacing - maybe he's supposed to be a mystery still and they build upon it? What do you think?

[–] BullSchmidt (3189) 4 years ago

> I didn't really get that [self-centered] vibe [from Larry].

#MeToo. The problem for me was that nothing he did was *clearly* fully selfish. There were always mitigating circumstances. The guy accusing him of song-stealing was dying and may have been half crazy. The one-night stand was a bitchy sort -- mocking him for checking up on his mom, in the middle of a pandemic! -- and he could've had good reasons for leaving. Rita needed him much less than the book's Rita did.

Now, selfish jerks are not selfish all the time IRL. So, OK. But if there had been one case where he didn't have any excuse for his actions, I think it would have made quite a difference. As it was, Larry's laments that he's a screwup came off as neurotic self-criticism more than anything else, at least to me.

> What I was referring to [was] the actor's performance.

I know. I thought the performance was solid, but I can't praise it that highly, mainly because at the end I still didn't have a real sense of who Larry is, for the reasons I gave above. Maybe that's because I've got prior expectations from the book.

> He carried that episode fully on his shoulders. I'm [shocked] because Stu right now is a background character.

I think they're introducing a few people at a time. Last week it was Stu, Fran, and Harold. This time it was Larry, Nadine, and Joe's show. The next episode's title, Blank Pages, implies to me that it will be Nick's turn, and so Tom's and Julie's.

Harold's sure into full creepy mode. Hunched over in the bathrobe when Larry dropped by, he reminded me of Dussander in Apt Pupil.

> What do you think [of Flagg]?

Not as fearsome as depicted elsewhere. Of course he's the Bad Guy, we know that. Right now he seems like a serious man who can do some magic tricks. A naive viewer might think Flagg is leading Lloyd to Boulder. Maybe that's the idea. I've complained that The Stand doesn't explore why ordinary folks would align with evil. If that's what they're showing it's a plus IMO.