Last night I went with a friend to see Eat, Pray, Love, and while I absolutely adored the book, I give the movie mixed reviews.
First, the trailer contains several scenes (my count is four) that were completely edited out of the movie, to its detriment I think. In general, the movie sacrifices deep moments for broad summaries of Liz’s (Julia Roberts’) experiences in each country–and as a result, the trailer manages to evoke more insight into Liz’s character and personal enlightenment than the movie does. In any case, Julia Roberts is a goddess and I can’t hate on a movie that is modeled off of such a good book.*
The movie DID whet my appetite for adventure, which is a good thing because I’ll be jetting off to Copenhagen, Denmark in a month–smack dab in the middle of the semester. It’ll be difficult to take a week off from school, I imagine, but I can’t complain: Three other law students and I entered an international negotiation competition over the summer, and our written submission qualified us for the oral rounds, which involves an all-expense-paid five-day trip to Denmark!! We’ll spend that time negotiating a treaty on international trade in pharmaceutical products with seven other schools from all over the world, and hopefully finding some time to sight-see!
The movie returns several times to an elderly medicine man in Bali who starts every palm reading with “You are a world traveler…” Looks like I’m much closer to the dream this year than I was last year, working in an office bored out of my mind eight hours a day. It’s opportunities like these that really make me feel how much law school has been my reinvention, much like pizza/praying/sex was for Liz Gilbert. 
*I realize this statement cheapens my legitimacy as a consumer of literature–just like saying “My favorite book is the DaVinci Code” or “I named my cat Gatsby”–but honestly, I picked this book up in an airport expecting it to be garbage, and was amazed at how well it helped me put a VERY difficult breakup-type-thing into perspective. I still quote the book’s ideas on what “soul mates” are: “People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that’s holding you back, the person who brings you to your attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave. And thank God for it.”
