Harry Potter and the Lost Friendship

The saga of Harry Potter the boy wizard is over, and damned if it wasn't a good one. It has been a fun couple of weeks for HP fans, first with the "Order of the Phoenix" movie, and then with the final book that closes it all together.

The "Order of the Phoenix" movie was pretty good, although as always it lacked the true magic Rowling is able to create in her books. And it wasn't as good as exciting as some of the other installments have been in their movie form. Still, "Order of the Phoenix" must have been a nightmare for the filmmakers to adapt, seeing as it is the longest of all the Harry Potter books and, in my opinion, the least exciting. This was the one time I liked the movie MORE than the book, even if I didn't adore the movie all that much. Because I found the BOOK "Order of the Phoenix" rather dull.

The hard part about the Harry Potter movies is that they ARE repetitious. There really is sort of a Harry Potter movie formula:
A) Harry awakens. Something is wrong. Voldemort, or one of his attackers, is going to cause trouble.
B) Nobody believes Harry.
C) Harry feels a lot of angst about nobody believing or trusting him. This is always meant to be symbolic of how all teens feel (Cuaron was the only guy who really did this right).
D) Harry breaks a bunch of rules to find out the truth.
E) Surprise! Harry was right all along, at least about most things. Harry does a big "I told you
so," but then has to fight the bad guys.
F) Harry narrowly escapes, and Voldemort or the other baddies swear vengeance. The end.

In Rowling's books, you don't really notice this formula because there is SO MUCH else going on, and the multi-faceted fantasy world she has created has so many exciting and dynamic layers. But in a movie, where those layers must be stripped away for time and only the bare bones of the plot can remain, we always get the feeling that we've seen this story before. And it's not the fault of the filmmakers themselves--it's just DAMN HARD to adapt a Harry Potter book. It has always been a pipe dream of mine to adapt book four or book six, but it seems PRETTY clear that that's not going to happen!

Now, let's talk about the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Perhaps not the best book of the series, but certainly a really, REALLY good one. I'm still reeling a bit, having just finished reading it late this afternoon, so I haven't quite composed all my feelings about it. I don't think I found it as captivating as #4 or #6, but it still gripped me the entire way through. And the best part is that it draws the entire Harry Potter story to a close. While I managed to predict a few plot points, others caught me totally off guard, and Rowling is very much a master of her world. What is most satisfying is that she brings EVERYTHING from all the other books into play, even referencing stuff that happened in "Sorceror's Stone" when Harry was just a little kid. This was very rewarding, if at times frustrating. The final book is NOT for the casual Harry Potter fan...you really need to know EVERYTHING about the universe in order to follow what is going on. I'm not as huge a Harry Potter fan as I am of some other fantasy sagas, but I do love and treasure the books. Still, even I'll admit I had to look up who Mundungus was, and I had to reread sections of book six to (SPOILER)

...figure out why Draco was the rightful owner of the Elder Wand.

There is much more I'd like to say, but it's stuff I'd rather chat about with Potter-o-philes than write about. I just hope, after reading this, that they PLEASE bring Alfonso Cuaron to do movie #7, and close out the saga even more masterfully than he elevated it with movie #3.

Which sort of brings me to my next little bit. Anyone reading this may want to stop now, because what I'm about to say is sorta personal and probably not that interesting to you. But I need to write it. Because it will make me feel better.

I lost my favorite Potter-o-phile. A girl friend of mine, who has at times been known to read this blog, has really let me down, to the point where I don't want to have anything to do with her anymore.

You and I, I will admit, have had a difficult, confusing relationship. But I've always been there for you. Always been that shoulder to cry on, always been there for your late-night calls when you weren't feeling well and needed someone to talk to. Even several years ago, after I told you how I felt, we resolved things and stayed close friends, even if we were on seperate edges of the country. And naturally we'd grow more distant, not being able to see each other. But we've tried to stay friends via e-mails, IMs, and seeing each other over summer and winter breaks.

But I'm tired of being a friend at your convenience. Tired of being there when you need me, and no other time. A friendship is a bond between two people; they're supposed to BOTH care and look after each other.

Maybe you are too ditsy to realize this, which is a shame. But, multiple times in my life you have called wanting to hang out, and then dropped me at the last minute. This happens with everyone, but lately with you it's become more and more frequent. I'm tired of being that guy who can just be "summoned" when it's favorable for YOU, and dropped when I am no longer of any use. I'm not going to be that guy.

And what I was MOST looking forward too this summer, as silly as it sounds, was to share with you the magic of Harry Potter. We talked months ago about going to see the movie together, and then going to get the book at midnight the following weekend. Because I know that while I love Harry Potter, you ADORE him more than anything, and I wanted to see you enjoy that magic--to share that magic with you.

And in the days following the release of the movie we talked many times about when to go, and we figured out when we were both free. I declined some offers to go see it with other friends because I wanted to experience the special moment with you.

And then you dropped me. You didn't call. You didn't return MY calls. I have no clue what happened to you. Although I can tell you are still alive and..."well."

Maybe I wasn't as close a friend to you as I thought I was. But even if that were the case, you know how I've felt in the past, and you ARE my friend. You knew I had really been looking forward to this, and it never happened, and it never happened without any explanation. It has, simply put, really hurt my feelings.

I enjoyed reading the new book a lot. It gripped me more than any other piece of entertainment has this summer. But it left a bittersweet feeling in my heart. It was partially because I am sad to see Harry go, knowing there will not be another Harry Potter book again, and that all the quality fantasy sagas of my childhood (LOTR, Star Wars, and now HP) are finished. But the REAL sad feeling came from knowing that you let me down. And that you probably don't even care.

I frankly hope you call sometime to try and apologize so I can chew you out, but if you never do call, I am totally fine with never seeing or hearing from you again. But it's really too bad that it took me this long to find out how worthless you really are.