A Night of Twilight

I would assume that most people who have looked at my blog would be familiar with my LOVE for the Twilight Books by Stephenie Meyer. Fortunately, I have some great friends who share that love (not all at the same degree, but that's okay) and we got together for a TWILIGHT PARTY!! Although the movie came out on Friday, we waited until Saturday because of a Primary Activity and some husbands' work schedules. Adrianne had us over and we celebrated with yummy food and good conversation. She made these cute little cakes with quotes from the book...so awesome. I made sure to get Edward quotes because he's, you know, the best character in the series. After the food, we headed off to the main event.
Now, there is a fun story behind our tickets. Our silly theater does not allow advanced ticket sales...you can only buy them on the day of the show when the box office opens at 1:00 pm. So, we were all emailing back and forth about when we should get in line, how we could share shifts, etc. And then, Derrek (Rebecca's husband) came to the rescue. He graciously volunteered to get the tickets for us; he said he'd even camp out if needs be. Well, we checked things out on Friday and although the tickets sold out within an hour, we didn't think he'd have to seriously camp out, just maybe get there early in the morning. But Derrek was committed, and he headed over at 1:00 AM to make sure he was first in line. And it was a big committment...it got down in the teens that night!!! He spent most of the night in his car, and then David (Annemarie's husband) came by to keep him company. Some of us brought him snacks, too, so he wasn't alone the entire time (in fact, when I stopped by David looked like he was having fun, although Derrek did look a bit tired). However, he was the very first in line to purchase our 17 tickets for the show. (It also turns out that he really didn't need to camp out...the first other people came at like 10 am. But it sure makes for a fun story!)

THANKS, DERREK (and Dave)!

And to show how much we totally rock, when we showed up at the theater there wasn't a line or anything for our showing, just people standing around the lobby. Genius Priscilla went and stood by the front--BOOM! Instant line. So, we were not only the first to get tickets, but also the first in the theater to pick our seats. While in line we passed the time with some groovy Twilight Trivia (okay, I made up the questions because I know way too much about the books, having read them several times). It was fun to see how much we all remembered/didn't remember about the story. When we finally got in the theater, we got some great seats and let the younger girls in our group sit by themselves (I am sure that they contributed much to all the giggling that happened in the theater).
Anyway, it was a really fun night hanging out with the gals. I kind of felt like a teenager again, in my Twilight T-Shirt (the young girls who came with us all loved my shirt--what does that tell you?--and they were cute, too, having dressed up like the characters in the book) and getting so excited over a movie. But it was so fun doing it with a bunch of other moms who I am so blessed to be friends with. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

So here's the real question...what did I think of the movie?

If you don't care to read, feel free to skip, but it's my blog so I wanted to post my opinion. Here's my answer to the question: I liked the movie, I did not love it. Actually, when it first ended, I wasn't sure if I even liked it. I wanted Edward and Bella to be more relaxed (I didn't really like how she was portrayed...I liked her much more in the book) and I thought the love story ws really choppy and rushed. However, there were a lot of parts that I really enjoyed, like the kitchen scene and the baseball scene (although it was a little different than I had pictured). I thought the teenagers were really fun, and I loved Charlie. I have to admit that I even liked Jacob (gasp!) So overall, I really liked the background and supporting characters. It was fun to watch and so I can say that I did like it now.

What I really didn't like was Edward--not the actor (who I at first hated, but have really warmed up to...still not the Edward in my head, but it worked). I just felt like Edward was always SO INTENSE and serious the entire movie. He was never charming, or sweet, or playful like he gets in the book. Sure, he is intense in the book, too, but not constantly like he was in the movie. I didn't feel that fun, falling-in-love feeling from him and Bella; it was like they just had to be together all of a sudden, and they were always scared/anxious about it. Also, I felt like the book builds the love to the climax of the meadow, and then they get to enjoy the bliss of first love for a little while before James comes into play. The way they rearranged things in the movie, you don't get that, and I was disappointed. I wanted Edward to smile more (and Bella, for that matter...but I won't ramble on too much longer).

It was a low budget movie, I know, so the special effects were kind of cheesy. I can overlook that, but I hope that in the next movie they can bring out the TRUE love story that we all love. Overall, it was just about as I expected. I just love these books so much, I don't know if I'd love any movie that didn't follow the story exactly. So many of my favorite book scenes were omitted from the movie (and it probably didn't help that I had just re-read the book so I was really aware of my favorite lines that had been cut as well---Hello! No mention of the word, "Dazzle" and Bella and Edward never even said "I love you" the entire movie!) And yes, I think I will definitely see it again. I'm a Twilight junkie...I just can't get enough. :)

And for some comic relief...

Micah has had to endure my fanatacism for Twilight ever since I started reading them last January (thanks again to my dear friend Jamie for the recommendation!!!) With all of my movie excitement, he didn't want to be forgotten. So here it is, Micah's

TOP TEN REASONS I'M BETTER THAN EDWARD

10. You think my feet are cold at night.

9. Insurance: Health-honestly, who insures an immortal? Life-no chance you outlive him. Car-my rates go down with age; Edward is paying teenage premiums f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

8. Inferiority: no way you can out-do Edward; with me you have a slight, okay possible, okay good, okay winning chance.

7. I bring sunlight into your life.

6. Sure it's a farmer's tan/burn, but at least there is some color.

5. You know how hard it is to get out a blood stain.

4. Do you really want to be married to someone who is literally "stuck in high school?"

3. No chance our dinner guests ever actually become dinner with me.

2. We can grow old together, not just you getting old. (I realize that Bella becomes a vampire, but that's a technicality and do you really want to go from eating chocolate, ice cream, and cheese fries to blood?)

1. I'm pretty sure most would agree that I'm better looking.

Aren't I married to a funny guy? I just love him.

And I love Twilight, and hopefully always will. It makes me feel like a teenager again, and with 3 kids all day, sometimes I just need the escape.

So tell me, if you saw it, what did you think of the movie?