This post is going to be a bit different, and some of you may not like it but oh well.
On the day of the release of The Deathly Hallows Part 2, I wanted to spend a moment expressing my feelings about the entire Harry Potter series, rather than focus on the final film. Of course the last film is what everyone is looking forward to, and of course, as a critic, I should review the biggest movie of 2011. But I'm not going to do that. You see, the truth is that I have never seen an entire Harry Potter film and certainly have never cracked open one of the books. This may shock anyone who doesn't know me, and some may think the credibility of my reviews to be destroyed, but that's ok. Last Thursday (July 7), ABC Family began showing the first six films on their Harry Potter marathon weekend dealio. I sat down and watched three hours of a little boy who had his life changed drastically in The Sorcerer's Stone. The problem was that I fell asleep with thirty minutes remaining, which totally pissed me off. I assure you that I did not fall asleep from boredom or lack of interest, but from getting up at four o'clock in the morning to go to work. I was actually very impressed with a film starring a bunch of little kids.
It was so weird to see them at that age, and to think that I was younger than them at the time the movie was made. It also made me think of how many Hollywood stars have risen and fallen in the time that these movies were made. That alone earns a great amount of respect from me for the cast, who never gave up. Sure, a few characters were played by multiple actors, but, for the three main characters to have gone that long, dedicated to making a great series, it is truly amazing. I cannot imagine giving up my entire childhood in the name of Harry Potter. Of course there was Radcliffe had his nude Broadway thing, but that just makes him an actor.
The truth is that Harry Potter has defined my generation up to this point. Maybe I am one of the few people who have not seen the Potter films, but my world has certainly been surrounded by Harry's world, ever since I was a small child. Anyone who can write a book or make a movie that has that much influence deserves my respect and thanks. One day I will sit down and watch every Potter film, hoping to fall in love with the characters and the story. One day I will probably regret that Harry Potter hasn't been a bigger part of my life so far. But at midnight, July 14, 2011, I realized how big this series really was, simply by logging on to Facebook and seeing the stati and photos of friends who were saying goodbye to Harry Potter, one last time. Then I celebrated and said goodbye to Potter....... by going to sleep! And to Harry Potter, I say thanks, for letting kids dream a little, in a world where imagination has become reality.
