# Trust me! The story's better than it sounds! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 9, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141 "2010-07-09T19:53:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/101 "2010-07-15T05:23:47Z")
Yes, it is pretty good. So good I bought the DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/102 "2010-07-15T08:10:54Z")
The Princess Bride So this kid gets sick and has to stay home in bed, you see, and his grandpa reads him a story. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/103 "2010-07-15T15:46:14Z")
With _kissing_! And twu luv! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/104 "2010-07-22T17:57:51Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Funny, I was thinking of starting a thread like this myself. The nefarious **Skald** no doubt stole the idea from my head using some sort of mind-reading device. > > My personal #1 example is the (out of print) fantasy novel _Gossamer Axe_, by Gael Baudino. When I have reason to refer to this I usually say it’s about a traditionally trained Celtic harpist who takes up the electric guitar and forms an all-female rock band. Even THAT sounds pretty ridiculous, but the stuff I’m leaving out sounds a lot worse. > > Like the part about how the heroine is traditionally trained because she was trained in traditional times – she’s actually a pre-Christian Celt who’s traveled through time to the present day. She’s hoping to rescue her lover who’s been held captive by the elves for hundreds of years. I forgot to mention she’s a lesbian. A time-traveling Celtic lesbian rock musician. Who can do magic using music. Oh, and this book was published in 1990 (just before the grunge explosion) so the band is actually a hair metal band and most of the references to contemporary music are also about hair metal. > > All of this sounds ridiculously awful, but it is IMHO a pretty good urban fantasy. It has a feminist and gay-friendly bent and had some “message” subplots, but overall doesn’t feel too preachy. It does very much romanticize the Celts, but it’s hardly a unique offender in that area. The author is also obviously enthusiastic about rock music and I liked the music-based magic system. I do feel kind of bad for her that she wasn’t writing this book in a different time, though. Not only was hair metal on its way out as a genre, but the genre and especially the associated “look” (there are a number of references to spandex and hairspray in the book), has since been considered a huge joke in a way that most other dated genres are not. Update: so I am actually about halfway through this book. I can’t argue with any of \*\*Lamia’s \*\*description above - and will add that the geek-trivia about music theory, guitars and hair metal and classical-shred players is all surprisingly detailed and accurate - clearly a true guitar geek and 80’s metal-head wrote this book. And while it is decent urban fantasy, honestly it reads more like fanfic to me - it is so…so…earnest and detailed in its earnest detail and has enough stilted phrasing to just seem, well, fanficky. Debating whether I will finish it - but all the guitar geekery is tending to keep me drawn in despite the intense cheese of the actual story…either way, glad I was at least exposed to it via this thread…kinda surprised I hadn’t heard of it now that I am reading it, given my interest in both guitar and sci-fi/fantasy… ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/105 "2010-07-23T00:29:24Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Debating whether I will finish it - but all the guitar geekery is tending to keep me drawn in despite the intense cheese of the actual story…either way, glad I was at least exposed to it via this thread…kinda surprised I hadn’t heard of it now that I am reading it, given my interest in both guitar and sci-fi/fantasy… It’s been a while since I re-read this book, but IIRC it becomes more exciting as you go further on and the characters run into various troubles. I won’t claim it gets any less cheesy, though! ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/106 "2010-07-24T03:00:25Z")
I really liked it but _Adaptation_ sounds boring as shit when you summarize the plot. “This Hollywood writer is trying to write a screen play on a book about orchids, but he can’t make it interesting so he gets help from his identical twin who doesn’t know how to write.” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/107 "2010-07-26T04:14:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quoth **multimediac17** : > > > [@](#): > > > > Explaining Rent (one of my favourite musicals/films) is hard too. > > > > “Well it’s about all these people living in New York City… and half of them have HIV… and there isn’t really a strong plot it’s more just about what happens to them over a year… and they sing a lot.” > > > > Sounds AW-ful. > > You forgot the part about how they’re all losers who hate anyone who isn’t a loser, but other than that, the description captures it exactly. Instead of a long explanation, I just start singing _South Park’s **Rent** _: _“Aids, aids, we all haaaaave aiiiiids!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/108 "2010-07-26T04:51:05Z")
Up: A senior citizen, half-Asian boy scout, a talking Golden Retriever, and a bird that looks like Toucan Sam with 6’ legs… (it kind of fizzles around here) Wizard of Oz: A girl dreams about a magical kingdom populated by her relatives. National Treasure: Book of Secrets: A puzzle master obviously copied off the much better version in Dan Brown’s books attempts to uncover the secret involving _make OoOooo sound_ _Rutherford B. Haaaaayes’ Deeeeesk_… _pause for non-believing stare_ _…AT MOUNT RUSHMOOOOOoOOoOOoOORE!!!_ Asimov’s The Foundation Trilogy: It’s a science fiction story written in the 50’s about a guy who tells the future from the past, and then his prophecies become completely useless about 1/2 of the way through the first book. Why? Oh, there’s this character called “The Mule” who…Yes, you heard me right: The Mule. Yes, he’s quite a terrifying figure in the universe of this book. Oh, he dies of old age at the end of the 2nd book. Yes, they were never able to stop him. Um, yeah I guess he’s the main villain of the entire series. Yes, dead by the 2nd book. I guess they couldn’t stop him because everybody was using gas powered combustion engines on their spaceships. The Bible: In the first half of the book, there’s this guy, God, who’s just fucking with everybody left and right. I think he’s bipolar or something. Every other page he’s either helping the character or sending a problem to that character. In the 2nd half of the book, there’s these 5 stories about the same guy. Yes, it’s the same guy. They all have the same ending too. Finally, the book ends with some crazy guy making up all sorts of shit about the 7 tribes or something. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/109 "2010-07-26T05:09:22Z")
Saw 1-3: A serial killer who doesn’t actually kill anybody teaches the importance of following the rules, cooperation, and living life to the fullest. ET: An alien that looks like a deformed midget overdoses on candy, gets sick, and then goes home. Rocky: A poor guy who dreams of being a boxer loses the big match to the champ. Oh wait, it wasn’t a loss…ties with the champ. Um, I wouldn’t call it a “boxing” movie…or a “sports” movie…I think there’s only one match in the film. But it’s a long match! Good Will Hunting: A guy who is really good at math…does some math. Apparently, the math he does is incredibly impressive. One of the things he does is some sort of equation that nobody else could solve. Then he burns it. But, along the way, he manages to hook up with some British chick that looks like an ostrich. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/110 "2010-07-26T05:20:14Z")
Fame: a bunch of kids go to some “special” school. I think it’s some sort of alternative education thing where they use art to get to problem kids. Darkness Falls: it’s a pretty typical horror movie. The monster is the Tooth Fairy. What? Stop laughing! The Blair Witch Project: 3 idiots get lost in the woods. At the end, one disappears, one pees in the corner, and another one drops the camera. I think they find a tooth or something, but I really couldn’t see shit. They spend a lot of time waving the camera around at night. I think there’s only 2 lines repeated throughout the entire film: I’m scared and What’s going on? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/111 "2010-07-26T06:19:07Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Darkness Falls: it’s a pretty typical horror movie. The monster is the Tooth Fairy. What? Stop laughing! Clearly, you haven’t met the real [tooth fairy](http://www.librarything.com/work/95872). Even Pratchett’s carry pliers so they can make change! ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/112 "2010-07-26T15:14:14Z")
> [@Noel\_Prosequi](#): > > But I figure that one example that is very difficult to summarise in a sentence or two for a quite different reason is _Pulp Fiction_ - the fragmentation of temporal sequence that is nevertheless necessary for the unfolding of the story. I would have agreed with you a few days ago, but it was just on TV and the episode guide summary was perfect. Along the lines of “In related episodes over a couple days, two hitmen, a boxer, a crime lord and other characters meet their fates.” ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/113 "2010-07-26T15:46:53Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > So Elvis is living in an East Texas nursing home, where his only friend is JFK (who is black: “The CIA made me this color…_ALL OVER_!”), who convinces Elvis that there’s an Egyptian mummy around, sucking the souls out of the old folks. > > [Really!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281686/) It _is_ pretty good! “I’m thinkin’ with SAND here!” Ahhhh, I really should dust it off and watch it again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141.md?page=5)