Give us a fucking break. This embargo nonsense is out of hand. Ok, weeks in advance, sure, we suppose that’s fine, but “Twilight,” the Catherine Hardwicke-directed tween-vampire goth romance opens this weekend (Friday, November 19) and the film was just screened to critics in Manhattan last night (thanks for inviting us). But the publicists tried to tell all the reviewers on hand that they should “keep your reactions to yourselves until Friday,” to which journos apparently scoffed and murmured, “yeah, right…”
Jeff Wells was in attendance last night, and guess what? He liked it (Summit embargo be damned).
“Due apologies to those middle–aged male journalists making smart-ass cracks outside the theatre after it ended, but they’re wrong. They’re living in their own world — blinded, blocking, reactionary. Because within its own emotional teenage-girl, imagining-and-longing-for-the-ideal-boyfriend realm, Twilight… should I say this? I don’t want to anger Vivian Mayer. But what publicist would be upset if a guy like myself, an unregenerate adult-movie, classic-movie, indie-movie, Pasolini-admiring, Kubrick-worshiping fan who hates sitting next to giggling groups of women in cocktail bars — what if a guy like me said that this sucker works?”
Wells final thought, “The movie had the crowd in the palm of its hand.” Whoa, “Twilight” is good or is he just trying to be provocative? He’s sounding genuine here. Now we’ve seen everything.
The Chicago Tribune wrote a “talking poinst non-review” as well. They say “Twilight” “is low-keyed supernaturalism. Director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown) doesn’t go in for heavy blockbuster or franchise machinery. Likewise, Tuesday’s preview audience at the AMC River East 21 seemed relatively subdued on the way out.”