By Maria Padhila
I love finding out about books and movies in popular culture with characters with polyamorous relationships. I really love it when said books and movies aren’t all about the relationship but treat it as just another element in a character. I really, really love it when there’s a woman who loves two men. I really, really, really love it when it’s a crime genre / SoCal hardboiled / James Ellroy-influenced-with-flavoring-of-surf-noir novel.
I think I just lost 98 percent of the audience. Well, that’s not something that stopped Don Winslow from writing Savages. There are as many raves for it as there are complaints about its eccentric writing style (which borders on beatnik free verse in places) and ‘unbelievable’ characters or plot. Consider the sources of the raves: Stephen King called it “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on autoload.” New York Times’ Janet Maslin named it as a top 10 book of the year. And Oliver Stone’s making a movie out of it, which is scheduled for release July 6.
It’s quite a case for going with your creative vision, no matter how odd people might tell you it is. Here’s a plot breakdown: Ben and Chon have a lucrative, designer hydroponic weed business going, based in Laguna Beach, and O is their girlfriend. Between looking hot and playing volleyball, Ben goes off to “Third World” areas and helps dig wells and brings medical care and Chon does push ups (he’s a former Navy SEAL and contract fighter). Between looking hot and loving both of them, O shops and deals with her mother, a real real housewife of Orange County. The Baja Cartel makes a hostile takeover of their business, and kidnaps O. Wheels turn.