Brooks on Books: I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle

You certainly can't blame a reader of this novel for wondering what kind of movie it would make. It's written by an experienced TV and movie scribe. Its high school graduation night setting and recognizable characters bring to mind many classic and not-so-classic teen movies. Each chapter begins with a distinctive drawing by comic artist Evan Dorkin with an accompanying quote from one of those aforementioned movies. One of the main characters, a geek named Richard, quotes and references films all the time for his shtick (and he knows it's shtick). Heck, when "Entertainment Weekly" gave it a blurb review, it spent practically the entire paragraph speculating on the eventual movie. And, oh, yeah, according to IMDB, "I Love You, Beth Cooper" is already in pre-production as a feature film for 2009, starring Hayden Panettiere and directed by Chris Columbus.

It might make a great movie. I know it makes a great book. Doyle's novel is laugh-out-loud funny and easy reading for anyone with a fondness for teen movies or a desire to relive their high school years. Even someone who doesn't want to do that can (hopefully) laugh at this book.

The story covers the events set in motion when the academically gifted but socially inept class valedictorian Denis Cooverman spills out the book's title in his graduation speech. A humorous and exciting chain of events follows that includes small parties, big parties, brawls, underage drinking, declarations of feelings, revelations, and all manner of general goofiness.

The characters are recognizable archetypes, and I don't say "cliches" because they are too vivid and well-delineated to deserve that pejorative. I actually cared about them, too. Some of the situations here--confrontations with bullies, awkward social encounters--are familiar, but Doyle's great dialogue propels you through them and makes them fresh enough. It's easy to visualize a smooth transition of these elements to the big screen.

What might be trickier, though, is the sharp omnisicent narration, a device Doyle uses to great effect. The quickest comparison I can make is to Ron Howard's fine work on "Arrested Development." In "Beth Cooper" as well as on that series, the narrator knows way more than the characters do and often expresses it as a wry corrective or counterbalance to what those characters are saying. It seems to me a big part of the novel will be lost if this is lost.

Other than that, though, a lot of it should write itself. But I say why wait until 2009? Check the novel out and be ahead of the curve. This is a sharply written book with laughs on practically every page, many of them big laughs.