Vampire-Mania takes over local theatres

The movie Twilight hit theatres and it made big bucks on the first day, especially the midnight showing. After that first day, sales took a nose-dive and have since then dwindled. This can only mean one thing: the movie made the most money from fans of the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. It would then logically follow that the movie should have been made for the fans of the book, but did it succeed? Were the fans of the book impressed by the "movie version" of their obsession? While waiting in line at the midnight showing it was clear that many of the people had read the books and were anxiously waiting for the chance to see the movie. They impatiently discussed their favorite parts of the book, what they thought would be in the movie, and what they thought should be in the movie. I understand that a movie never really lives up to the book upon which it is based, but I too had hopes that the "magic" of the book would be encapsulated in the big screen version. Maybe the key plot details need not be included, or my favorite lines, but at least they would capture the essence of the beautiful love story between Bella and Edward. So with an understanding of how directors and script writers take artistic license, I entered the theatre with lowered expectations. During the movie, it was easy to notice the parts of the movie that were so very against the tone of the book because I was not the only person groaning or whispering "What?" Some parts were so ridiculous that the audience had to laugh in order to shake off the awkwardness they felt in this version of the story. Many fans, when leaving the theatres at the end, were very disappointed in what they had just experienced. They went into long-winded explanations of what should have happened, all the tiny minuet details that were missing. My greatest grievance, however, was the general lack of a feeling of a real relationship between the main characters. There was no real love exhibited in the actor's portrayals, and this made the movie become just another teen love story. It just seemed like something that could be based off of any of the poorly written books in the young adult section, and it is this that makes me most sad. Twilight isn't just another stupid teen love story; it was written rather beautifully by Meyer and I believe it is the writing style that created the large fan base of the book. It is because she was able to take such a scoffed at idea and turn it into literary magic that not only teens, but also adults, couldn't help but become adoring fans. And yet this just might be the problem. The story itself is cliché without the delicate weaving of Meyer's prose. Without it the story can be seen as ridiculous, a love story between a teenager and a vampire--what is so special about that? This must be the problem the movie studio and staff ran into. Can this type of story be translated into film without sacrificing a little bit of seriousness and supplanting it with a silliness the book did not possess? It is now only fair to ask those in the audience who are not addicted to the book whether they found the movie entertaining and the surprising answer is that they did. The scenes of ridiculous awkwardness appealed to them in a way that it could only appeal to outsiders and in that the film can be called successful. However it is also of note to say that there are a very few amount of this sort of person who will see the movie in theatres and I, once again, return to the question of, was the movie made for the right audience?

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