gu van sant have make some excellent film . i truly be a fan . however and i can not help but feel that the cerebral edge of tom robbins book even cowgirls get the blue be lose in translation to the big screen . alone and tom robbins and gus van sant be incredible visionary and tower of talent . ultimately though this one just do not work . it wasn not that the character weren not well develop or the plot and content do not come alive . it just that our imagination be much more powerful when read a book like this . be take away to a different time and place and we sometimes think the bad and or or the best and it add to the overall roller coaster of the book a it neatly unfold accord to the author precision . movie however can leave one with less of the imagination and emotion roller coaster detract from the overall experience . this be what i believe happen here . i suggest read the book .