Thanks to my friend Heather, I got to see Harry Potter last night.

I suppose it was wasted on me because I haven’t read any of the books and have pretty much managed to sidestep the whole hype. Strangely enough, Heather was in a bar on Saturday night where they were handing out free “sneak preview” passes. Now, this is a kids movie, right? So why are the passes being handed out in a bar on Sat night? Heather didn’t ask any questions, just grabbed three passes – good girl.

When she called with the good news, I knew we had to invite Kat. If anyone is a HP fan, it’s her. Rumor has it she waited in line to buy the latest HP book and loved them all. So the three of us wound up in the theater surround by hordes and hordes and hordes and hordes of kids. I mean, you couldn’t spit without hitting someone under 4 ft tall.

Before starting, they announced the movie was 2.5 hours long so if anyone had to pee, now would be the time. 50 nine year olds and myself dutifully tromped into the bathroom and back. (Hey, my mom taught me well, what can I say?)

And then the movie began. It was very good and didn’t feel like it was 2.5 hours long. In fact, the small person next to me managed to sit thought the whole thing and only had to cover her eyes once. Now, if you have children or have every babysat, I think you will realize the import of the fact that this movie managed to keep all these little squirmy people seated and quiet for over two hours. Wow. Unlike most Disney flicks, this one didn’t have any “adult humor” where the parents chuckle and the kids ask, “what happened?” The only questions that came from the kid by me where – “Mom, what does that say?”

Oddly enough, even though the short folks can’t read, they can recognize when there is writing. So every time there was a sign or a book or a letter that the audience had to read, the munchkin next to mean would lean into her mom and ask for a verbal interpretation. Smart kid.

The whole movie gave me a flash back to 7th grade when Becky Marshall and I used to pretend we were witches. We’d go down to the lower field by the fence and make up all sorts of strange stuff that I have managed to block from my memory. I think the biggest pull for me was the ability to fly. I would have signed on for that part alone given the chance.

But the movie was goods and the effects were very well done. Maybe I’ll read the book so I can decide if they did it justice but according to Kat and Heather, they were spot on.