The Stand benefits greatly from its excellent casting. Gary Sinise, Ray Walston, Jamey Sheridan, and Adam Storke are all perfect movie representations of their book counterparts. Gary Sinise, in particular, completely embodies the role of Stu Redman, a tough, taciturn and exceedingly sexy hero. However, Molly Ringwald is genuinely terrible and her Pretty In Pink-era mannerisms do nothing to flesh out her character, the strongest and most likable female character in the book. Also, the costume designer was clearly on crack, because Molly wears the most outrageously inappropriate outfits for crossing the countryside on a motorcycle - tights, miniskirts, berets. Who thought that was a realistic choice?
The film interweaves the various character arcs skillfully and it's faithful to the book, but not too faithful. Some of the omissions that the filmmakers made work very well, such as cutting out Trashcan Man's back story. One more aspect that should have been cut out was every instance of Stephen King's extended cameos. Really more a bit part than a cameo, King is stilted and awkward and should really stick to writing rather than acting. Also, there are a few too many references made by characters to "making our stand." It grows quite tiresome, although it would make for a fun drinking game. Despite these small irritants, The Stand is a darned good adaptation of a great novel and it's a pleasure to see these well-written characters and situations on the big screen.
