Close-reading the Spenser Confidential synopsis

© by Gerald So | 4:00 AM

Following my trailer reaction, it interests me as a former English prof to analyze the official movie synopsis:

Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) — an ex-cop better known for making trouble than solving it — just got out of prison and is leaving Boston for good. But first he gets roped into helping his old boxing coach and mentor, Henry (Alan Arkin), with a promising amateur. That’s Hawk (Winston Duke), a brash, no-nonsense MMA fighter convinced he’ll be a tougher opponent than Spenser ever was. When two of Spenser’s former colleagues turn up murdered, he recruits Hawk and his foul-mouthed ex-girlfriend, Cissy (Iliza Shlesinger), to help him investigate and bring the culprits to justice. From director Peter Berg, SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL is an action-comedy co-starring Bokeem Woodbine, Marc Maron, and Post Malone. Inspired by Robert B. Parker's Wonderland, a best-selling novel by Ace Atkins.

better known for making trouble than solving it - Well, the Spenser of the books was fired for insubordination.

Hawk...a brash, no-nonsense MMA fighter - This version of Hawk is analogous to Parker's character Z(ebulon) Sixkill, created to be Spenser's apprentice in an aborted TNT reboot as the TV rights to Hawk were tied up elsewhere.

Parker brought Z to the books with his 2011 final Spenser novel, Sixkill, and Atkins continued his arc with Wonderland. In the books, Spenser brings Sixkill to Henry to improve his endurance and fighting skill. In the movie, Henry brings Hawk to Spenser to learn boxing, improving his MMA repertoire.

Contrasting Hawk's MMA and Spenser's boxing nods to Duke being fifteen years younger than Wahlberg, better handling than A&E's 1999 movie Small Vices without explanation presenting the similarly younger Shiek Mahmud-Bey as Hawk to Joe Mantegna's Spenser:



foul-mouthed ex-girlfriend - Cissy may be analogous to the books' foul-mouthed Susan Silverman. We see Cissy put up with Spenser, Hawk, and Henry as Susan would. Then again, she could be a lawyer girlfriend before Susan, explaining her helping Spenser investigate.

action-comedy - Seems about the right tone for Spenser. Urich's and Mantegna's portrayals seldom if ever brought the books' humor. Spenser is hard-boiled, not as bleak as noir. If you think Spenser too good a fighter in the books, you may enjoy seeing him knocked down in the trailer. And what movie hero today isn't constantly outnumbered?:



Finally, Inspired by has a looser connotation than "based on," hinting how far Spenser Confidential departs from Robert B. Parker's Wonderland.

Spenser Confidential Trailer Reaction

© by Gerald So | 5:30 PM



I don't hate it. There is, of course, the camp who say this isn't Spenser, but I think the trailer shows a balance of action and comedy, as the books do. Robert Urich's and Joe Mantegna's performances largely lacked the books' humor.

I also note three telling lines of dialogue. The first line of the trailer, "Whaddya say, Spense?" had me thinking, Buckle up. He hates being called Spense. Sure enough it came to blows. That's a detail only a reader of the books would get.

"...they framed me" puts to rest fears Spenser's character had radically changed to a felon.

And finally, "You were going to do what was right, with your strong moral code."

Is this the Spenser in the books? No, but the movie looks to depict the books' backstory--Spenser's police career, his meeting Hawk--as more recent events. Fine with that, I look forward to watching and discussing.

Spenser Book Title Change

© by Gerald So | 4:30 AM

In conjunction with the March 6 Mark Wahlberg Netflix movie Spenser Confidential, on February 25, Putnam Books will reissue a paperback of the book it was loosely based on, Robert B. Parker's Wonderland by Ace Atkins, under the title Spenser Confidential.

I see that the repackaging will entice people to buy the book, but I'm not sure the book and movie should share a title, given how much we've heard they differ.

Seeing the final cover image, I'm glad the Wonderland signage is in the background. Though Hawk isn't in the book, Hawk in the movie is in a similar position to Sixkill in the book. There is also, in fine print, "Previously published as Robert B. Parker's Wonderland. Well done, Putnam.

Sweet

© by Gerald So | 1:00 AM

I created this, my first blog, on this ordinary day in 2004, for no bigger reason than I could. Other blogs have gone and come back, it seems, while I've give sporadic life updates here all along. Once given, I seldom look back. To newbies, welcome. To oldies, thanks for sticking around.

For Your Agatha Consideration

© by Gerald So | 4:00 AM

My short story "Fred" (published on the Mystery Tribune website and apps December 16, 2019) features no explicit sex, gore, or violence. I made these choices organically while writing, coincidentally meeting Malice Domestic's Agatha Award eligibility requirements.

If you'd like to nominate "Fred" for the 2019 Best Short Story Agatha, I thank you.

Netflix Spenser Movie Title Change

© by Gerald So | 7:00 AM

Netflix, Robert B. Parker's estate, producer-star Mark Wahlberg, and director Peter Berg announced a Spenser movie deal June 26. 2018. I've rounded up details since then, and yesterday I learned the movie's title has changed from Wonderland to Spenser Confidential.

This seems a move to identify more closely with Parker's character yet not quite with 1980s TV's Spenser: For Hire. Since Brian Helgeland has rewritten the script, though, the new title brings to mind his work on the movie L.A. Confidential.

At least the title change reflects what I previously gathered: the movie includes a few aspects with Ace Atkins' 2012 continuation novel, Robert B. Parker's Wonderland, but largely departs from it.

My friend Nikki Dolson found the synopsis on Twitter:

SPENSER CONFIDENTIAL: Mark Wahlberg reteams with director Peter Berg to play an ex-cop, Spenser, who moves in with Hawk (Winston Duke), an aspiring MMA fighter with his own rap sheet. Between gym rounds, the duo’s taunts turn to trust, and they team up to solve a double homicide.

— Netflix Film (@NetflixFilm) January 3, 2020

Some re-imagining to be sure, but the basis sounds true to the books, where Spenser and Hawk often boxed on the same card and were trained by Henry Cimoli. In the Wonderland novel, thugs beat Henry, trying to scare him out of his condo so a developer can turn the land into a casino. If Spenser and Hawk are living with Henry at the time, as the movie's Wikipedia entry details, that raises the stakes for them. The movie wants to show the formation of Spenser and Hawk's friendship, not shown in the books. This neither seems the ideal approach nor a total miss.

In a phone interview with Ed Robertson for the November 25, 2019 episode of TV Confidential, actor James DuMont spoke positively of his experience on the movie, claiming Wahlberg captured Spenser's morality and working-class heroism. According to DuMont, if the movie does well, two more are planned. Three would give Wahlberg's Spenser more time to match Parker's and Atkins'.

The movie teaser has hit Twitter.

In addition to watching premiere day March 6, I'm planning to live-tweet the movie Wednesday, March 11, at 7:30 PM U.S. Eastern. Follow @g_so.

New Decade, Same Week

© by Gerald So | 3:30 A

You thought last decade was boring? This one begins on Humpday.

Joking. I tried to be in sync with last year so I'd be ready for spring and summer when they came, when the holidays came, and when the year ended. I would've liked a tad more rest the past few days, but overall it worked out. I'm ready for January, a month of largely unassigned time. May you make of it what you wish, too.