Twilight DVD Commentary

Last week I reviewed Twilight, so this week I thought I'd comment a bit on the extras, specifically, the commentary by the movie's director, Catherine Hardwicke, as well as its two leads, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.  I bought the 3-disc edition from Target and so got an extra dose of extras, many of which were actually of some interest, although I'd really have appreciated more outtakes and a blooper reel.  There have to have been tons of bloopers on this film, esp. given all the weather troubles they appear to have had. 

The commentary is on the first disc.  Robert's comments are by far the most entertaining.  For a good rundown of those, go here; not all of his quips get mentioned - Mandi Bierly leaves out a couple of the funniest ones - but the ones she misses come up in the comments left by others.   

What I think is most interesting is that, of the three, only Catherine Hardwicke seems to be a fan of Twilight, the book, and she is really, really a fan of its melo-love-drama in general and of Edward Cullen in particular.  To be specific, her comments lead one to the conclusion that she has spent many evenings imagining how she would shag Edward completely senseless.  But since Edward is, very unfortunately, a fictional character, she could make Rob work in a pinch.  Yes, she could make Rob work...and there would be pinching.

This left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.  It's not the age difference, really.  Really.  It's that she was his boss, and she's more or less verbally leering at him throughout.  Otherwise, she offers little enlightenment on the making of the film, and in at least one instance, [at the point in the film where Bella exits the book shop] she completely drops the ball, failing to explain the perspective of a camera angle Rob asks about.  Did she or did she not film and cut this thing?

Kristen Stewart is by far the least talkative of the three.  My sense is that she may have some perspective to give, but nothing has inspired her to offer it.  She's there on sufferance.  Twihards who imagine a Robsten pairing would only have to listen to this commentary for that fantasy to be cleared up - her attitude toward her costar is familiar, friendly, and at least once [when Rob complains about his hands] utterly exasperated.  Bella as a character, in her everygirl ordinariness, doesn't seem to particularly interest her.  For that matter, neither does Edward.  Mostly she comments on the everyday problems of each shoot - bad weather, treacherous terrain, wire work.  She did seem really familiar with the audience reaction to the film, like she'd been to a number of showings and was interested to see how the work had been perceived/received.  

In contrast, this is obviously the first time Rob Pattinson has seen the whole of Twilight, and it's clear it makes him beyond uncomfortable to have to view his performance. To endure it he resorts the British fallback, self-deprecating humor and spends the almost hour and a half ripping on his face ("Sometimes I think I look like I've had facial reconstructive surgery, like after burns or something."), his hands ("I've got such effeminate hands. I could never be strong."), and his "sculpted" eyebrows (which seem to represent and bear the full brunt of the contempt he has for Edward).  

Charmingly enough, this strategy works for him, probably because he mostly concentrates on the thing that he has no control over but which has been universally well received - his looks - instead of thing he did have control over and was less well received - his performance.  This is a smart use of self-deprecation; however, it's my sense that it comes naturally to him and it's not simply manipulation.  And he is genuinely funny and quite entertaining putting on this one-man talent show, laughing, joking, and bursting into song for comic effect.

Yet all this can't hide the fact that he clearly views Edward as fairly ridiculous and the Edward worship as beyond explanation.  Twilight could in no one's estimation, be considered a recommended book for 22-year-old males (the few 22-year-old males who actually read books, that is).  It's a girl's book, a romance.  Many of Edward's characteristics - his Adonis looks, his sculpted body, his politeness and good manners, his prolonged abstinence - are not ones that recommend him to other men.  And, objectively, this is a guy who has spent the first 90 years of his immortality going to high school and not even taking advantage of his good looks to bag girls.  He can play the piano and read minds, but what has he accomplished? 

Additionally, you can tell that the way the movie people dolled Edward up rankled.  The many disparaging remarks on his sculpted eyebrows reveal that.  Then there are his comments on Edward's "bouffant," his lipstick, the dorky baseball costume he wears during the vampire baseball scene.  None of these things add up to a manly enough man for all of the attention Edward's gotten, at least to the actor who played him.  Catherine Hardwicke clearly thinks she nailed Edward [cough, cough] and he is as dreamy as they come, though.

So, in sum: really enjoyable and fascinating commentary - not for what is said, but for what isn't.  

tags: twilight  edward cullen  robert pattinson  kristen stewart  catherine hardwicke