I have had such mixed emotions over all this Twilight vampire business. I am not saying my feelings are all legitimate or mature. But damnit it I admit it. By the end of the movie my neck was stretched out toward the screen ready to be gobbled by Edward the vampire.

But here’s the thing. I was already a part of a vampire revolution.  Remember Ann Rice and the Vampire Lestat?  By the end of the Interview with a Vampire series I realized I was sipping cranberry juice out of bejeweled goblets and had canceled my tanning membership.  Those books were delicious!

Then there was THE LOST BOYS.  The original with Kiefer Sutherland and the Coreys, not the recent remake silliness. Music! Heat! Blood! Danger! With some humor and charm thrown in.  One of my all time favorite movies.  Some of my other faves include FRIGHT NIGHT, Bram Stoker’s DRACULA, FROM DUSK TIL DAWN, VAMP, and BLADE. You see? I am a vampire fan. I should have been excited for this vampire Twilight hysteria.

When it comes right down to it, I guess I am hating on Twilight’s author, Stephanie Meyer. When I heard her story I was fast approaching 40 and still hadn’t finished MY best seller and using “parenthood” as yet the latest in reasons why not. So along comes Mrs. Meyer who had a dream about some vegetarian vampires who reside in a town that becomes infested by blood sucking evil vampires.  She then proceeded to write a book based on that dream, for three months with a kid on each hip.   Her phenomenal success pointed out my colossal loserness. Sigh.

So on the eve of my birthday my fifteen year old niece convinced me that if I was going to continue to refuse to read the book Twilight that I should at least see the movie so that I can talk about it.  So here goes.

Although it feels really sophomoric alot of the time, I enjoyed it. I have a fondness for things that seem very close to “reality” or “normal” but then take you some place else. That’s what Twilight did for me. Edward and Bella were just high school kids.  They were as smitten and innocent as Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez.  Except for that part where Edward could barely control himself from tearing into Bella like a New York strip when she sat next to him in class.  And instead of singing in the cafeteria, the twilight lovers soared through the woods. Other than that, it’s your normal boy meets girl story.

I realize that some of the things I liked about the movie would be considered cheezy by somebody else. But that’s the beauty of my opinion.  It’s mine.  I found it so funny and charming when Edward told Bella he was taking her home to meet his family.  Then again when the family made the big fuss over her in the kitchen.  I was inspired by the way the family stuck together to support Edward’s new love, and to protect him when Bella was in danger. I think we have lost a lot of that “blood is thicker than water stuff” in our families and relationships and that theme struck a cord with me while watching the movie.

The baseball scene was really cool.  Not only is it great fun to hear and watch but again, I  enjoy extraordinary characters doing incredibly ordinary things.

The story of the vampire is a bit simplified in Twilight as some of the vampire myths are dispelled.  It makes it easier for the vampires to blend in and for Edward and Bella to be believable as a “couple”.

As much as I liked their relationship, by the end of the movie I was saying, “Don’t be stupid Bella. You can’t just become a vampire over a high school crush.  Don’t do it!”   All the while, my neck was floating up toward the screen. “Bite me Edward. Love me. Choose me.” (I used to be a big Gray’s Anatomy fan )

So anyway, I bet the Twilight book is way better than the movie.  It usually is.  So I am going to put aside my jealousy and read the books.  I am dying to fill in the gaps of this first story and anxious to see if she goes deeper into the werewolf story.  For 2009 I choose to be inspired by Mrs. Stephanie Meyer, Mother-Author Extraordinaire.  There’s no room in this cougar’s life for jealousy or excuses.