Surrendering to that damn Potter kid

The next time I watch Ray Milland in "Lost Weekend," I’m going to look really closely and see if he’s got Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix tucked under his arm because that’s the dirty little tome that caused my own recent lost weekend. Yes, I sat down at page 207 on Sunday afternoon and closed the book last night around midnight, 650 pages blinder than I was before. Worst of all was trying to explain to my husband why I was sniffling and trying not to sound too pathetic while mumbling things like “But Sirius...” and “Dumbledore cared too much to tell him...” and “Poor Professor McGonagall....” To his credit, he just looked at me, with my bloodshot eyes and pathetic face, sighed, and handed me the next volume.

So, yes, I’ve been sucked into the Harry Potter cult. After years of resistance, which I've written about before, I am five volumes in and am now ready for the membership card and secret handshake. I now know all about Muggles and Weasleys and Deatheaters and Cornelius Fudge and hippogriffs. I know, too, that I don’t really like Harry too much, but I think that’s a good thing. It means J.K. Rowling’s done a good job of creating a well-rounded character. Ron is my man and I like Hermione as well, who’s as smart as I always wanted to be growing up. And I love Sirius and Dumbledore and McGonagall and all the rest of the kind-hearted authority figures.

More importantly, I can finally appreciate what a detailed world Rowling managed to create and can read in awe as she manages to string so many things together over the course of so many pages. Sure, there are a few missteps here and there, and while the prose is strong, it’s nothing to write home about. It’s Rowling’s way of propelling the story forward and imbuing the most fantastical elements with humanity that really make this series special. I love the way it makes me laugh out loud or gasp at unexpected moments or the way it makes me hang in there, thinking just a few more pages, when I’m sure my eyes are going to start bleeding from the strain any moment.

I feel lucky, too, that I’m reading these books now when the series is complete. I don’t think my frail nerves could handle waiting two years to find out what happens after the close of each novel. As it is, all I have to do is polish up my glasses, look pathetically at my husband and wait for him to hand me the next two volumes. Which I guess technically makes him my enabler. I'm okay with that.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I was thrilled to open my e-mail this morning and find this review of the latest Harry Potter flick from frequent Park Bench contributor and midnight movie-goer, Ms. C. I'll let her tell the tale:

Just got in from seeing the newest Potter flick and sat down to write my thoughts, still digging out popcorn kernels from the back molars to give you this immediate review.

Of course, The Order of the Phoenix was great. Like the lady in the stall next to mine said into her cell phone (before asking for TP), "Dumbledore was AWESOME." They got a lot of good stuff in from the book and succeeded in portraying a whiny, angry, entirely too teenage of a boy without overdoing it or losing the audience. I was disappointed at many things left out of the movie and at all the wasted time spent showing castle spires and the same door over and over again. HOWEVER, despite my reservations at the editor's questionable decisions, I must admit that I wanted more so much more because the film was already delivering plenty of visual delights for fans of Potter. Many times, I wished I could just freeze the screen and soak in the stupefying tableau. Though the film offers a veritable garden of top-notch actors, that means not everyone gets as much screen time as a fan would like. But because they ARE such amazing actors, the faithful viewer is rewarded greatly. There's one scene where Alan Rickman, as Snape, says the word "yes" with such aplomb, he might've just recited a Shakespearean monologue. Or the wizard equivalent, of course.

I encourage you to go see it, especially if you love great fight scenes between Obi Wan and...uh, between Good and Evil. You won't be disappointed, either, to be delivered back into the magic of Hogwarts and the waiting arms of one of the hottest, funniest, and charming of movie pairings. Of course I speak of the Weasley twins, Fred and George. Le sigh.

She quickly wrote back to add that the movie was"...laugh out loud funny in parts and properly heartwrenching in others."

So what's everyone doing at work? We should all be out there seeing this movie now! Your boss won't mind a three-hour lunch break, I'm sure of it.