At 25, I shamelessly join the bandwagon of teenagers (and their Moms) that is hooked to this Twilight saga. Due to this constant prodding of a girl friend based in New York, I saw myself gave in to this almost endless nudging – head to a local bookstore and got hooked to Twilight. I have the books – all of them!
Under normal circumstances, I am no fan of these blood-sucking creatures. Having read Interview with the Vampire (published in Rolling Stone) of years ago, I know I will never like vampires but not until some months ago.
A Mormon Mom based in Arizona, Stephenie Meyer - who for some reason has this overly flair for words, wrote the book. I swear! I have never read anything before that can ever beat the cheesy lines in this book that for a while made me want to puke. No kidding.
Twilight is not about vampires and werewolves; instead it is a teenage love story of a vampire and a human being. Expect a lot of kissing in the book but no sexual intercourse (Edward is a 107 year-old vampire!), so I guess it is safe for teenagers to read the book but still with some parental guidance – what with the gory fighting scenes and parents should also warn their kids about wanting to be ridiculously bitten by a vampire and have him eternally – never mind if that means dying.
My first meeting with Edward Cullen was worthy of the Greeks, although I know a number of girls drooling over Jacob too. He was beautiful and really took my breath away. I’d definitely want him to be seating beside me in all my subjects in school! His character made me want to become my younger self – screaming my lungs out at the sight or thought of this guy that caught my attention.
Bella Swan, to me, is the typical outcast in school that caught the most sought after boy’s attention – not because she was that pretty but he craves for her blood. She was clumsy, pretty in her own way and is the perfect catch for Edward Cullen – her parents were divorced, Mom remarried and her Dad was a little distant. In her teenage mind, all she ever has is Edward, who constantly fights his desire to suck Bella’s blood and kill her.
And so, I was pretty excited to watch the movie adaptation… I did. Twice!
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen may not be the guy I had in mind but he was great as Edward. He was always Cedric Diggory to me but not until I’ve seen him in the movie. He has this stare that if I were Bella, I’d melt a thousand times or probably shrink ala Ally McBeal. Despite being a vampire (he and his family are vegetarians), he looked pretty safe to me – I didn’t see any of his fangs. Did you notice how gorgeous he was when he got out of the car, sporting a pair of wayfarers? I’d love to bring him home and introduce to my folks. And boo to his make up!
Kirsten Swan wonderfully played Bella Swan. In fact, she was almost everything I expected Bella to be – only that she was not that clumsy. Although I can hardly relate to her, I know what it’s like to fight for something you hold so dear – sometimes, to a fault. Edward is her first love; so we expect her to throw everything away for the sake of this love – even if that means her own death.
Billy Burke was super funny with his portrayal as Charlie Swan (Bella’s Dad). He reminds me of those Dads (mine included) who act silly when boys “take away” their precious daughters.
I did enjoy watching the movie – as it was able to beautifully capture most of the important scenes from the book. They did a great job in minimizing the cheesy lines from the book and I would love to have seen the characters grow in the movie, the way they did in the book – but I know that you cannot “explain” everything in the movie with that 2- hour airtime. And if I may suggest, they need a better make up artist. The Cullens are just ridiculously effing pale!
While waiting for the next movie adaptation, I will let myself get lost in New Moon.
