the trailer for the great gatsby was released last night. i wanted to turn it off after 30 seconds. actually, i wanted to find baz luhrmann and give him a piece of my mind. what has he done? why did he do it? he took America’s greatest novel and turned it into a spectacle. when I think of the roaring twenties, surprisingly i don’t think of kanye and jay-z’s “church in the wild.” i think about jazz and flappers and stock markets crashing. where is that in the trailer? where the hell is the jazz?

i’ve read the book over 10 times. i’ve memorized the opening and final pages. fitzgerald’s writing speaks to me better than any other author i’ve ever read. the way he describes women and love and loss is the way i would want to if i was a great writer. the themes of this novel resonate with anyone who’s wanted a shot at the american dream. we want things we can’t have, but we spend our whole lives trying to find them or make them right. everyone has a “daisy” whether they’ll admit it or not.

i saw esquire’s tweet calling the film possibly the most stylish movie ever. that’s great, but where is the story? baz luhrmann’s biggest problem as a director is telling a story. moulin rouge was candy for your eyes, but not for your brain. storytelling used to be an important piece of film making. i’m not sure where it went. hey hollywood, sometimes bigger is not better. i was excited about this film and ready to give luhrmann another shot after sitting through australia, but i can’t watch this movie – especially not in 3-D as it’s intended to be viewed…”so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”