UPMBD For Short

[bloodyrosemccoy]

Rewatching the Harry Potter movies, not in anticipation of the new one, but rather because I need a Rifftrax fix and really don’t feel like watching Eragon or The Matrix, well, ever again.* And I gotta admit, I can see why I abandoned it six books and four movies in. Underneath all that whimsy, I can’t escape the way the series boils down to a perfect example of the genre I call “Unlikable People Making Bad Decisions.”

Actually, some of my favorite movies are in that genre. Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, and I suppose you could put Alien in that category as well, though I rather like most of the characters in those movies, up to and including Private William “GAME OVER MAN” Hudson. But the thing is, it’s because you’re not required to like the characters to enjoy the movie. In Harry Potter, you are supposed to like at least some of the characters, and that’s where I’m tapped out. (The same problem keeps me from enjoying the Unlikable People Making Bad Decisions shows my sister and mom enjoy, such as Private Practice and Desperate Housewives.) Characters determined to make the worst possible decision at any given moment, who are so exceedingly touchy that essentially the taunt of “Your mom!” induces any of them to homicidal rampages, are not characters I can really like.

Add to that the completely arbitrary nature of the magical world, and the way EVERY SINGLE TEACHER seems to be actively trying to get their students killed,*** and I find myself wondering what I did see in the Harry Potter stories.

I am enjoying the riffing of them, though. Especially since Mike, Kevin, and Bill have made a running joke of the reckless endangerment wizards and witches seem to put their children into at all times. But alas, I have run out of Harry Potter riffs for now, and will have to turn elsewhere for my mockery.

Hmm. I wonder if Michael Sheen makes an appearance as Count Fabulous in Eclipse …


*Actually, I got back on the Rifftrax kick while letting my current bout of Alien obsession run its course. I’d exhausted the number of times I could watch Alien and Aliens, then watch them again with audio commentaries,** without feeling just a little repetitive. Plus, anyone doing John Hurt impressions makes me giggle. (“I remember … doing something stupid … then something else stupid …”)

**I have long suspected that commentaries are designed for the obsessive nerd who doesn’t want to feel like they’ve had the damn movie on a constant loop for a week. It’s totally different this time! There are people talking about the movie!

***Except for Snape. The only one whose loyalties you’re supposed to question is the only one who’d shove himself between a werewolf and three children he can’t stand. Snape, like Raistlin, is a character I love in a franchise I really don’t like. Yeah, yeah, have at me, internet.

Comments

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

it takes me a while to get critical about stuff that at least moderately entertains me, so it wasn't until later that I really started to get annoyed by the series.

I hear ya there. I often take quite a while to decide if I've even LIKED something.

I GUESS Hermione wasn't taught "Alohomora" in class, but that does seem like a pretty weak defense to even HAVE the spell. You'd think there'd be a lock that could counter it. And the teaching style was definitely old-school British boarding school "shut up and learn" style, which seems ineffective. I have to admit, I started wondering what the point of a wizard school was if magic was so ... random.

I remember Ginny being pretty cool, but I have to say that Neville is my favorite. He was the most interesting character and I actually LIKED him.

[stormteller.livejournal.com]

Yes, Alohomora is advanced magic for that age, and yes, it is possible to enchant locks to counter it. The spell becomes useless after book 3 or so.

[westrider.livejournal.com]

Given that Alohomora is out there, it seems like a spell that's only really usable for malfeasance should be in the Restricted section. Sort of like how it's only legal to own lock-picking equipment if you're in law enforcement or a Locksmith or something. Which admittedly would probably only have slowed Hermione down a little, but still.

I probably would have hung out with Neville if I'd actually been there, and I'm a huge fan of Sam Logan's "Neville Would Have Done It In 4 Books" T-shirt, but as a character, he just didn't click with me for some reason.