Emerald Fennell‘s new Wuthering Heights movie is dividing critics right now.

Many books have gone on to receive loose adaptations for the silver screen, and Fennell’s take on Emily Brönte’s novel seems to be among them. Critics can’t agree on whether the shocking horniness, campy flair and vast diversions from the book are good or bad.

While we’ll let you decide on that for yourselves, Watch With Us takes a look back on some of the weirder movie adaptations of books.

From nightmare-inducing children’s book reimagining to odd interpretations of a Dickens classic, we ranked the four strangest book-to-movie adaptations ever.

Related: Biggest Differences Between the ‘Wuthering Heights’ Movie and Book

This isn’t quite the Wuthering Heights you read in high school. The new movie adaptation of the classic Emily Brontë novel starring Margot Robbie (Catherine) and Jacob Elordi (Heathcliff) hits theaters Friday, February 13 — and it’s already generating plenty of controversy, from the casting choices to major plot point changes. The film currently has […]

4. ‘Dune’ (1984)

Before Denis Villeneuve directed two Oscar-nominated adaptations of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction novel, Twin Peaks creator David Lynch took a crack at adapting it back in 1984. This was the art-house director’s big, bold move into the mainstream after his financial and critical success with The Elephant Man. Of course, the director of Eraserhead wasn’t going to give audiences another Star Wars, which is what executive producer Dino De Laurentiis wanted. Thus, the already strange story of giant worms, magic spice, corpulent, floating dictators and psychic witches was given a somewhat Lynchian treatment.

Sting plays a sexy sociopath clad in a Speedo, while most of the many, many monologues from all the characters are whispered rather than spoken. There’s also a mutated being that sits in a giant tank, grotesque heart plugs that the Harkonnens wear like it’s the latest fashion trend from Milan and a weirdo child (Alicia Witt who acts like she’s already lived a thousand years. Unfortunately, Lynch’s creative decisions and diversions from the source material forced his Dune to endure extensive cuts, which hacked the theatrical release down and created more distance from Lynch’s intended vision. It’s to the extent that Lynch publicly disowned the film and even removed his name or changed it to a pseudonym in the credits of certain releases. While Dune 1984 has established a cult following, it’s still quite divisive.

3. ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy (2012-2014)

Maybe it’s hyperbolic to claim, but Peter Jackson‘s three-film adaptation of the short children’s story prequel to The Lord of the Rings should go down as one of the worst decisions in filmmaking history. Jackson created a global pop culture phenomenon with his early 2000s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous fantasy trilogy, with each novel getting its own film shot back-to-back with the other in sequence. When it was revealed that The Hobbit would finally receive a live-action movie treatment too, the announcement stated that it would be split into two films directed by Guillermo del Toro. Then, del Toro exited due to delays and creative differences, and the production ballooned into three films, with original LOTR director Jackson at the helm.

As is the reason for turning every single-book story into multiple parts, turning the simple, 300-page The Hobbit into three extremely long movies was obviously done out of greed, not out of respect for preserving the dignity and beauty of the story. Instead, The Hobbit became three weird, bloated spectacles. There is ultimately so much wrong with all three The Hobbit movies that it would take longer than this short list to get into it all, but things like adding a pointless love triangle subplot with Legolas (Orlando Bloom), making the overarching antagonist not be Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch), heavy usage of overtly fake-looking CGI and unnecessary sidelining of Bilbo (Martin Freeman), the main character. Of course, perhaps The Hobbit films most unforgivable sin is how unbelievably boring it is.

2. ‘Ghosts of Girlfriends Past’ (2009)

What if we remade Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (again) and we made it about a womanizing bachelor (Matthew McConaughey) who is visited by the spirits of his ex-girlfriends (who are still alive) to teach him a lesson about how to be a real lover? Perfect, that sounds amazing — here is $40 million to make it happen. That is essentially the premise of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, which adapts Dickens’ novella about a miserly, isolated old man who is visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve and learns to appreciate life and everyone in it.

Instead, there’s no Christmas, no figgy pudding, no Tiny Tim or spirits covered in giant chains, and Matthew McConaughey learns about the value of monogamy and gets Jennifer Garner to fall in love with him. It’s likely that never in a million years did Dickens think his Victorian-era novel would be turned into a romantic comedy in which ghostly Michael Douglas (who portrays a version of the original character of Jacob Marley) tries to hit on the Ghost of Girlfriends Past (Emma Stone) who appears as a 16-year-old girl. In any event, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is funnier than it has any right to be, and it’s certainly a creative take on a story that has gotten too many adaptations to count.

1. ‘The Cat in the Hat’ (2003)

Unlike the live-action version of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas — which, despite being a crime against nature, has somehow managed to remain a Christmas classic in the nostalgic minds of some Millennials — the film adaptation of The Cat in the Hat still endures as an ill-conceived nightmare and one of the first dominoes to fall in Mike Myers‘ diminishing career. In the beloved children’s story of The Cat in the Hat, the titular Cat is a chaotic figure, but ultimately a source of fun and pleasure for the children he visits, played by Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin in the film.

Related: Fans Have Mixed Reactions to New ‘Wuthering Heights’ Trailer After Backlash

Catherine from Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights notably proclaimed that her and Heathcliff’s souls “are the same,” but it seems not every fan feels the same about Emerald Fennell’s adaptation. A full trailer for the upcoming Wuthering Heights film dropped on Thursday, November 13. “Inspired by the greatest love story of all time,” an Instagram caption […]

In Bo Welch‘s The Cat in the Hat, the Cat (Myers) is a wicked demon imp. To its credit, the movie does a great job at embracing Seussian aesthetics, with colorful, creative production design, costumes, sets and cinematography. It’s just a shame that everything else (script, characters, dialogue, acting, a pervasive feeling of dread and despair) makes the movie so borderline unwatchable. Alec Baldwin wears a girdle, the fish is entirely CGI, Thing One and Thing Two are creepy as hell and there’s far too much weird, double-entendre humor for a children’s movie.

Jennifer Aniston and her boyfriend, Jim Curtis, are continuing to check off important relationship milestones.

Aniston, 57, offered a glimpse into the couple’s Valentine’s Day celebrations via her Instagram Stories on Saturday, February 14. In the snapshot, the Morning Show star held up a box of candy hearts as she and Curtis, 50, sat at a table for two.

Curtis, for his part, took a more humorous approach to the holiday. He reposted a viral social media post from Pubity of a man trekking through the snow while holding a bouquet of roses and two stuffed animals.

“My brother tried so hard to ask his [girlfriend] to be his valentine,” the caption read.

Curtis presumably had better luck on the holiday, considering he’s been in a relationship with Aniston since last summer.

“They are being super private but have been spending a lot of time together,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in July 2025. “They are happy and really into each other.”

Per the insider, Aniston and Curtis “started off as friends” before a romance eventually blossomed.

“They’ve been hanging out a lot, but very much on the DL at her home in L.A.,” the source noted at the time. “It’s very Zen, and she has always been very much into that. They’re a good match.”

Aniston and Curtis made their Instagram debut in November 2025.

“Happy birthday my love,” the actress captioned a pic of the couple. “Cherished.”

Curtis, for his part, returned the favor earlier this week.

“HBD MY ❤️,” he wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, February 11, alongside a snap of the duo laughing on a boat.

A second source told Us Weekly in December 2025 that Aniston was looking forward to her and Curtis’ next steps as a couple.

“Jen is more public with Jim because she feels confident in their relationship and where it’s going,” the second insider told Us. “They are solidly in the ‘This feels different’ zone. There are no games, and there’s no hiding. … He’s brought her so much happiness and security that she feels comfortable sharing.”

Curtis is Aniston’s first public boyfriend since her 2018 divorce from ex-husband Justin Theroux. (Aniston was also married to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005.)

Related: Jennifer Aniston and Boyfriend Jim Curtis’ Relationship Timeline

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Jennifer Aniston hasn’t shied away from stepping out in public with boyfriend Jim Curtis. The pair, who were first romantically linked in July 2025 after a trip to Mallorca, have already captured the hearts of her fans, who just want to see the star happy. Prior to her romance with Curtis, Aniston was married to […]

“He’s brought her so much happiness and security that she feels comfortable sharing,” a third insider told Us in December 2025 of Curtis’ influence on Aniston. “She finally feels secure enough to share without any fear. Jen’s saying this is her person. She wouldn’t do that unless she was sure. She’s tired of hiding her joy.”

Aniston has long been candid about keeping parts of her personal life to herself.

“I have a real struggle, truthfully, about what to and not to share,” she told Vanity Fair in an August 2025 profile. “And also, social media is a constant struggle for me.”

According to Aniston, she’s worked through any fears with hypnotherapy and crystals.

“I’ve basically incorporated all of the healing modalities in order to create a calm environment in the chaos of the wonderful industry and the world at large,” she quipped to the outlet.

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Former The Hills star Stephanie Pratt is refusing to endorse her brother, Spencer Pratt, in his bid for Los Angeles mayor.

“Spencer has done great work for the palisades. But LA does not need another unqualified and inexperienced mayor,” Stephanie, 39, wrote via X on Saturday, February 14, referring to her brother’s outspoken advocacy in the wake of the deadly January 2026 wildfires that decimated parts of Los Angeles and the surrounding area.

“A vote for him is a vote for stupidity,” Stephanie continued, before issuing a series of follow-up tweets explaining why she is not endorsing her brother, 42, for L.A. mayor.

“He’s just trying to stay famous and sell his memoir don’t be fooled,” she wrote. “In an ideal world the palisades would have their own mayor and police department. I would love [for] him to be mayor of [the] Palisades but not LA with 4 million people. I’d be impressed if a republican could turn LA democrats thb.”

Related: Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag Sue City of L.A. After Wildfires

Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles and its Department of Water and Power (LADWP) following the destruction of their home in the Palisades wildfire. Spencer, 41, and Heidi, 38, were among nearly two dozen plaintiffs – which also included Spencer’s mother Janet Pratt – in the lawsuit […]

She added, “At least hire someone with work experience who wasn’t in a cult. I’m WORRIED about LA. I have no problem with Spencer playing government but our city needs help.”

Spencer announced his candidacy for mayor on January 7, 2026 – the one-year anniversary of the devastating California wildfires, which killed 12 people and burned more than 6,800 homes near and around the Pacific Palisades.

“The system in Los Angeles isn’t struggling, it’s fundamentally broken,” Pratt said at the “They Let Us Burn” public demonstration, per the New York Post, a “peaceful, non-partisan public demonstration calling for accountability, transparency and meaningful reform in wildfire preparedness, emergency response, insurance recovery and environmental cleanup.”

“It is a machine designed to protect the people at the top and the friends they exchange favors with while the rest of us drown in toxic smoke and ash. Business as usual is a death sentence for Los Angeles, and I’m done waiting for someone to take real action,” Pratt continued. “That’s why I am running for mayor. And let me be clear, this just isn’t a campaign, this is a mission, and we’re gonna expose the system.”

According to Politico, Spencer declined to take questions after he spoke at the rally, but showed a reporter photos of himself signing official campaign paperwork to confirm his run for office.

Although fans met Spencer during his time on MTV’s hit reality show The Hills, his focus in the past year has turned away from reality TV and onto politics and fire recovery in the neighborhood where he was raising his children alongside his wife, Heidi Montag.

His Instagram and TikTok are primarily focused on investigating what caused the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. He has become an outspoken critic of current Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Montag and Spencer share two kids, Gunner and Ryker. In January 2025, Montag and Spencer lost their home in the Los Angeles wildfires. “I just really want to go home,” Heidi said through tears in a TikTok video. “I’m so homesick.”

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