While I was watching this movie, I couldn't believe how funny it was. It was absolutely HILARIOUS. Towards the end, I was openely laughing outloud, very loudly. And it should also be said that I was in a theatre at the time.Honestly, it seemed like some sort of horrible parody gone wrong. Besides the title, the only other similarity I could distinguish between the movie and book was the name of the characters. Call me crazy, but I always thought that if you're going to make a movie BASED on a book, there shouldn't be a different story line.If you've never read the book, watch the movie. It's highly entertaining. If you have read the book, and want to see a classic example of how Hollywood butchers literary classics, then this is the thing for you. Or, if you want to get a cheap laugh out of it.For a better version of the movie, watch the (1980's was it?) Russian (er, Soviet) version, if you can get your hands on a translation.