The Hysteria

Over a week ago a good friend of mine bought me a ticket to see the long-awaited-for-by-girls-of-all-ages movie Twilight. I use the term ‘girls’ loosely in regards to this movie. There were plenty of grown women just as excited as their teenage counterparts, even wearing the movie-sanctioned t-shirt.

Then, last week another good friend brought the book over for me to read and tried to get me to go with a bunch of women from our neighborhood that were attending the midnight showing Thursday night/Friday morning. I laughed and declined, claiming if I didn’t do that for the Bond movie there was no way I was missing sleep for a different movie.

I read the book during the week. It was easy reading, I think my seven-year-old could read the book. He’d hate it, but he would be able to read it without a problem. I only made it to page 312 before I saw the movie, but then I didn’t dedicate much time to reading, maybe three hours worth during the week. I was a little surprised at how popular these books have become. The writing was quite poor for a book of this acclaim. The reading was somewhat entertaining, if you’re into romance, which I’m not so much. I enjoy a romance in the book, but not as the whole story. And at 312 pages there had been nothing but romance! I didn’t quite see what they could put in the movie and was really beginning to dread it.

Friday night I headed to the theater amid hundreds of screaming fans. We sat near the front and I watched the movie. It was actually pretty good. They used the last 180 pages that I hadn’t read as the main story line. While it didn’t ruin the book, which I finished last night to see how it differed, it was enjoyable.

But the best part was all the girls and women squealing during the movie! It felt like a concert full of teenage girls with their favorite rock star. Every time someone new came on the screen there were squeals of delight heard throughout the audience. I wasn’t quite prepared for the hyperness of the grown women! I guess love makes people feel young.