I got to see Twilight at 12:01 a.m. this morning. OME! (That's Oh My Edward, for those of you who don't speak Twihardian.) Anyway, I and my friend Dona, drove the the theater in Ventura, California and for a time didn't think anyone was there until we turned in to the parking lot. The girls were lined up around the corner sitting on the cold ground with quilts and blankets and lawn chairs. At first I thought Ugh! But the friend I brought with me is handicapped and she announced that she'd go to the front door and tell the young man that she had to sit in the lobby.
We parked in a handicapped spot, walked boldly to the front door and simply slipped unrestrained into the theater to wait. My friend and I were the first ones through the door and got terrific seats. Awesome!
What bothered me first thing this morning was all the blistering negative reviews of the movie offered dispassionately by professional but irritated and surly critics. Well, I thought, they're not teenaged girls or mothers or grandmothers of teenaged girls, so keep your negativity to yourself! I wanted to see for myself. And what I saw I loved!!!
I can't wait until I can drag my husband or anyone else who'll go with me to see it again. It moved along so quickly it was hard to see everything in one sitting. It may take many, many times to see it all.
One of the problems with reading any book that's turned into a movie, is that you've already seen the movie in your mind. You know the characters intimately because they're creations in your head. That's how it was for me. I had Edward and Bella's faces pictured clearly in my mind. But I believe that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were magnificently cast in those two roles. I was impressed with the other castings as well, except Eric. He didn't have the chess club look about him. But Jacob--well he's just to die for. Can't wait for New Moon for him to shine.
I heard some Twi-Hard fans are not exactly crazy about the film. It bothers me. Could the movie have followed more closely to the book? Could there have been little things that made the book so endearing included in the movie that weren't? And could the sequencing of the movie followed more closely to the time line of the book? Of course. But if they followed the entire book, word by word and page by page, I'm afraid we'd have all fallen asleep before it was over and technically, it could have been made into a mini-series of epic proportions that lasted a week or longer.
Now don't get me wrong, I love
Stephenie Meyer and her books. I've read Twilight nine times and her last three books four times apiece. You have to admit that Stephenie is quite verbose and tends to over analysis and describe things in excruciatingly long-winded detail. She uses about 255 pages to develop the relationship between Bella and Edward from first sight to the declaration of their love. Well in a movie--even a two hour movie--that's just not possible. So cut them some slack people! Some might feel they were left with unfulfilled expectations and desired a longer love story. Others think the bad vampire attacks--which weren't in the book at all--weren't necessary. I've heard it described as you've been offered this culinary master piece of a meal that will follow with a fantastically rich dessert. However, you're not allowed to eat the dessert when you've finished the delectable food. So you go away feeling dissatisfied--even though you were well fed, ate scrumptiously and are full. There's just no way to satisfy everyone.
As it stands, I enjoyed my Twilight meal and thoroughly intend to eat well again. (I'm a dieter, I can use food metaphors.) It's just too bad we're not all screen writers, movie directors and producers. Well there you have it. So much for my professional critic of the movie Twilight. Go see it, judge for yourself.
You have to admit though, Robert Pattinson's a hunk!!!
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