And, I can readily admit, I'm probably going to cry my eyes out in the theater. Not just because I've read the books and know that J.K. Rowling straight-up murdered most of my favorite characters, but also because I grew up with this franchise, and it's very bittersweet that it's ending.
So I'm taking a look back at the previous movies, and recounting what was going on in my life when I saw them.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). I was 16 when this movie came out, and a junior in high school. Even in high school, I was very particular about having my "me" time, and this most typically occurred on Wednesday nights, one of the few nights I didn't have a church event or sports practice. Some Wednesdays I would go out to dinner or a movie by myself; most nights I just rented a movie that no one else was interested in seeing. But, because I loved the series, I went by myself on a Wednesday to see "Sorcerer's Stone" in theaters. Looking back, the special effects are kind of cheesy, but at the time, they were top-notch. Also, I felt hilariously rebellious, because my fundamentalist Christian high school thought Harry Potter endorsed witchcraft and Satan worship, and I knew it would tick my teachers and coaches off for me to go.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). I remember very little about going to see this one, but I know it would have been my senior year of high school. Also, for some reason, I'm pretty sure I went with my mom and youngest sister, though they had never read the books and had no idea what was going on. (Where my middle sister would have been, I have no idea.)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). I went with my then-boyfriend and a group of our friends to the midnight showing of this at the old, rundown theater near our university. It was insanely crowded and rowdy. Looking back, the only thing I had good taste in at the time was the movie.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Same rundown theater, same midnight showing, but lucky enough to be going with a group of friends that included my now-husband. It's funny to think that, of all the actors in the movie, the biggest star would end up being the actor who played doomed pretty-boy Cedric Diggory (a then-unknown Robert Pattison, a.k.a. Edward from "Twilight"). Also, my husband and I started dating a mere four days after this movie. Thanks J.K. Rowling!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). This one came out just a few weeks before mine and my husband's 1-year wedding anniversary and, as young newlyweds, we again had the luxury of attending a midnight showing, at that same old theater. There was a costume contest, and I wore this cool Azkaban prison shirt that had Sirius Black's name and prisoner number on it. When asked who I was, I said, "Azkaban Jailbait." It got a few laughs, but the girl who dressed up as a spot-on Luna Lovegood (crazy glasses and all) ended up winning the contest. My husband sulked after the movie because he thought it was blasphemy to kill Gary Oldman, regardless of what happened in the book.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). This is the last one I went to a midnight showing of, and it was crazy that I did it then, considering I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. (Little did I know I'd be having my son just a couple of weeks later.) I went with my sister and a friend of hers, who unfortunately did not get to greatly enjoy the movie, as she's had her wisdom teeth out earlier that day, so her cheeks were swollen up like a chipmunk, and she was pretty zonked out on Percocet. We had to line up outside the theater to wait for our seats, and there was this little brick wall where some people had sat down. My sister got her redneck on and berated them for not giving up a spot for the pregnant lady to sit. Good times.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010). As my son was 16-months-old when this one came out, we didn't get to see it opening night. Nor opening week. I think it had been in theaters about a month before we finally managed to catch a matinee of it. It wasn't anyone's favorite of the series, and I had to explain a good bit of it to my husband (who's never read the books). While it was the slowest of the movies, I'm so glad they split the last book up, as there's no way they can pack all the awesomeness that will be Part II into half a movie.
And tonight, as the trailers keep reminding us, "It all ends." I'm going to see the last in a series that I grew up with.
But it's not all sad. Now that my son is about to turn 2, we've started letting him watch some of the earlier, more kid-friendly movies. And I've saved all the books, so once he starts reading, he can enjoy the same novels that his mommy read as a kid.
1 comment:
A sweet post.
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