More Chemistry Than Katniss and Peeta?
When I read that director Gary Ross had to keep reminding chummy Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, the stars of the multi record-breaking The Hunger Games film, that they were supposed to be in love (a la Haymitch?), I had a very bad feeling. I shrugged it off, reminding myself that I not only love Lawrence, but that Suzanne Collins, the author of the series herself, confirmed that Hutcherson was the total embodiment of Peeta (despite his lack of height, despite his lack of blue eyes—which weren’t even changed with contacts!—and despite many fans, including this one, not being happy with the choice). Now, after seeing the film, I know that my wary feelings were completely warranted. (Spoilers ahead.)
Hutcherson is NOT Peeta, for starters. Or he possibly could have been, I suppose, had the writers and directors maintained his charming naiveté, his obsessive love of Katniss, his truly tragic wounds that resulted in a leg amputation, and his near total dependency on her as his champion during the Games themselves—but that didn’t happen. Instead, they were seeming concerned with beefing him up not in terms of height or weight but in his own supposed masculinity. Hutcherson himself said that Peeta was a bit weak—that’ll happen when you’re stabbed in the leg and DYING of blood poisoning, Josh!—so they decided to toughen him up a bit. This toughened up the few key romantic moments of the film, however, rendering them unemotional and lacking impact for many people—myself included.
Not only was Katniss’s absolute strength and amazing never-give-up, face for the cameras, shrewd intelligence and understanding downplayed, but so was the entire romance. The cave scenes are the most that I hear people complain about, and they are definitely in my top 10 list of things I didn’t like, too. I have seen better YouTube scenes than the ones we were privy to in this movie. And the complete lack of chemistry between the two—in those scenes and in others—just makes their eventual romance seem ridiculous. After all, Katniss doesn’t want a romance—but she is very intrigued by Peeta and enjoys kissing him in one scene. All of the funny, cute, and endearing dialogue—ALL of it—was cut as well, which is probably my number two complaint.
If you are wanting to see this film as a date movie and neither of you are fans of the book, it might work for you; if you are fans, however, proceed with caution. At any rate, if you end up with more chemistry than on-screen Katniss and Peeta, you will probably be alright.