Eclipse

After an impossibly long build-up, I saw Eclipse last night with 3 girlfriends - we spend the obligatory amount of time in the adjacent bar to properly compare (those of us who weren't pregnant, that is). My reaction to the movie: a heavily biased, slightly tipsy It was fun! The audience was really into it and we all had a lot of laughs.

Which is not to say that the movie incredibly sexist and slightly ridiculous (my friend who hadn't read the books or seen the previous movies kept leaning over to ask questions like, "Now, do any of these other people know they are all werewolves and vampires?") What was interesting is that in this movie/book, Bella wants to be turned into a vampire so she can live for eternity with her bf, and he's not so excited about that because he thinks her soul will be destroyed. So, he says he'll make her a vampire, but only if they get married. Because he's old-fashioned like that. Also, he doesn't want to have sex until they get married. Bella says, in a remarkable moment of clarity, "Getting married, at my age, means you just got knocked up." Bella's like, How about we have sex now, when I'm a human?* Anywho, I love that they acknowledge that girls wanna have sex just as much as dudes do. Edward claims, aside from not wanting to have sex outside of marriage, that it's too dangerous. "Why's it dangerous?" my friend whispers. "Because he's afraid he'll lose control and bone her to death," I whisper back. We howl.

What's gross and skeevy is that Edward displays classic abusive relationship attitudes by stalking his own girlfriend, restricting her movements by messing up her car and bossing her around and telling her what to do all the time. Ick. I mean, beyond ick. Also, as per the books, Bella's always being picked up and carried all over the place. You know, it's all well and good if some dashing young man finds a woman ill or injured on the moor and carries her to safety in a Jane Austen novel in the FRIGGING 19TH CENTURY, but it is decidedly NOT COOL to carry a capable young woman around like a two-year-old in this day and age.

The funny thing about Robert Pattinson is he's the first one to claim he's not a good actor. Kristen Stewart is a quite GOOD actor. Even though both are quite open about what complete bores their characters are, Stewart, at least, puts in a very believable performance. I honestly think she has the skill of a young Hepburn or Monroe - she can hold a close-up so well - it's the eyes, I think. Taylor Lautner, who plays the werewolf, and seems to have a contractual obligation not to wear a shirt more than 10% of the movie, looks like he ought to be on the set of Glee. I fully expect to see him there soon. That boy is so pretty and clean-cut. But, I really had to wonder what poor Anna Kendrick (btw, check out this gorg dress she wore to the opening) thinks about this whole thing - surely she's like, "I was nominated for an OSCAR! I'm TOO GOOD FOR THIS SHIT!"

Really excellent soundtrack including a gorgeous song by Florence + The Machine called Heavy in Your Arms. Finding that song was kind of worth the price of admission for me.

If you're a fan, I suspect you've already seen the movie, if you're not, there's absolutely no reason you should go, naturally. Who else saw it? What did you think?

*Apparently Bella has some angst that vampire sex won't be that great. My friend G said there's mild controversy about how a vampire gets an erection because they don't have any blood. Something to do with "magical semen" which is what her t-shirt is going to say next year.