The Twilight Saga: New Moon

This evening, the Texan and I went to the local second-run cinema, where for the $2 entrance fee, you get to sit on couches and you can drink beer (and eat, in my case, a vegetable panini).  Pretty much the best way to see any movie; as a disclaimer for my comments to follow, like gently chilling wine, or adding butter to anything, a microbrew and a couch will improve any movie experience.

We saw New Moon tonight.  I cannot believe that any of my readers will not have heard of this juggernaut of a book/film franchise -- the new-famed story of simple, ordinary Bella Swan, loved beyond death by the good vampire Edward, and, in this film, also loved in warm hunky life by the good werewolf, Jacob. Bella loves Edward -- there is never ambiguity about her feelings -- and poor Jacob is destined to be the "loved only as a friend" romantic loser in the triangle.  The books and films are worshipped by teenaged girls and, strangely, their romantic-sap mothers, across the world.

I had read (and quite enjoyed) the first book of the series, Twilight, when I was in Forks for a research project in early 2008 (the book takes place in Forks, although the first two movies weren't filmed there); the Texan went on to read the whole 4-book series.  The stories are melodramatic and filled with brooding angst and yearning, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the bite or the humor. We saw the Twilight the movie a year ago (in the same theater). It was filmed in the Columbia Gorge and around Portland, so I had some fun identifying locations, but the story was almost painfully eye-rolling; even more melodramatic on film than in the book.

So I would have given New Moon a pass, but the Texan wanted to see it, and it was a rainy Saturday, and it's been a long time since I had my wimpy half-pint of a micro-brewed ale. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  Everything about it was better than I expected -- the story had a deeper edge and more trajectory; the acting was actually good (although the story restricts much of the emoting by all the characters to "brooding", "pleading" and "yearning", while Bella has the added complexity of "confused vulnerability").  There was the merest suggestion of self-aware humor. The film-makers recognize the target audience, and for once, instead of bikini-clad women cavorting with men in suits, Bella is dressed generally in jeans and a sweater, while the men around her are stripped to their hips, muscles bulging and abs ripped.  And whenever I got bored, I could just admire Kristen Stewart's amazing eyebrows, so perfectly in place and tweezed that they might have been applied as a unit.  Maybe they were CGI (in which case, better CGI than the werewolves, which had to be given a conscious suspension of disbelief).

This is not to say that I would go so far as to recommend New Moon.  Or rather, do see it, but with the attitude of sociologically observing the hormonally-driven mind of a teenaged girl. Yeah, there are lots of eye-rolling bits, but the movie is no more inane than many a James Bond or other action thrillers (directed at hormonally-driven teenaged boys) that I've chewed my nails through. This movie simply has a different goal about which reaction it is trying to achieve in its audience.  There aren't a lot of movies out there for 14 year old girls, and it's nice to see one with upscale production values.  So I'll definitely see the sequel (Eclipse, already in production) -- about 3 months after it is released, with a beer and panini in hand, sitting on a comfy couch.