Mar 15 2009
We Are Wizards (Review)
WE ARE WIZARDS (2008)
A documentary on Harry Potter fans
I was never big into the Harry Potter books, but I’ve enjoyed the movie adaptations as time has gone by. Yeah, I know, I should really read the books. Everybody keeps telling me that even though they make a lame argument for me to do so. I don’t hate the books; I just have no desire to read the Harry Potter series considering the length of the series and I’m not a huge fan of the franchise. However, I would be open to viewing a documentary on Potter fandom in hopes that it would interest me enough to read the books.
We Are Wizards is not that movie. In fact, this is the exact opposite kind of documentary you’d want to make to get people interested in Harry Potter. The movie depicts Harry Potter fans as over-obsessed (and sometimes borderline depressive) geeks. Now, there is nothing wrong with being a geek. I’m a movie geek myself. But most of these people are just super sad and have nothing interesting to say about Harry Potter that hasn’t been said already. Sure, there are some cute moments like a family of children who become more creative through Harry Potter, but that’s one element among a whole bunch of sob stories and taking fandom into areas that don’t even make sense. One guy in particular reads Harry Potter in an intentional (or unintentional, I’m not sure) nerdy voice and draws low-quality fan-art. Later, the film follows him to a video store where he buys some VHS tape and goes on about how Warner Brothers is trying to screw him. Why is this important to the film? You tell me. Seriously, I want to know, WHY is this important footage?
The majority of the movie focuses on musicians whose music is based on Harry Potter. The bands are okay, but, honestly, fan-bands? That’s a level of fandom that even Trekkies would back away from. In terms of the topics covered, a big one is the boycott of Warner Brothers when they decided to sue fan-sites and fan-movies in what would be called Potter War. According to the fans in the movie, Warner Brothers is the big evil Nazis in this ‘Potter War’ and the fans are the Americans coming to aid the English. Meanwhile, the creepy fan-art guy is making creepy fan-cartoons that appeal to no one. And, boy, does he like to cuss. For a movie entirely about the Harry Potter fans, it really doesn’t paint a pretty picture of them. Naturally, the movie focuses on more their actual life than their fandom, but their actual lives seem so depressing and one-track. It’s almost like witnessing the aftermath of a hurricane.
RATING: C-Movie
After watching this movie, I really don’t want to be a hardcore Harry Potter fan. I don’t want to read the books, I don’t want to attend Potter conventions, nor do I ever want to attend a Harry Potter inspired concert. It’s not a horrible movie as a documentary considering it’s well-edited and well-shot. But the film really doesn’t show how the story of Harry Potter itself has affected these fans, but rather how fan-made activities control their lives. I know they probably don’t, but that is the impression the movie gives off.
