Homo Harry Potter?

(Daphne Ruth Jenkins weaving her spell on Viktor Krum.)

Being the geeky J.K. Rowling fan that I am, I insisted that DJ bring me to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on opening night. The place was packed! Luckily, we only had to trample a few small children to get excellent seats.

I'd been anticipating this one with a mixture of excitement and fear. The last installment by acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón was such a high point that I worried we were in for a disappointment. The bad news is that the newest film doesn't measure up to that Cuarón's masterful artistry. The good news, though, is that British director, Mike Newell's turn at bat results in 2.5 hours of solid entertainment that magically flies by. And hell, it's still light year's better than the first two installments by hack director, Chris Columbus.

Of the returning characters, Hermione Granger gets a good deal of time in the spotlight as she begins to transform from ugly duckling to swan. Maggie Smith's Professor McGonagall also gets some much deserved screen time and a few of the best lines in the film. On the other hand, Ron is wasted by being relegated to the envious friend mode for most of this outing. There's also precious little of the slithery Severus Snape to enjoy this time around.

Of the new characters, the hunky Victor Krum makes the strongest impression. Of course I don't think he had many lines; so that may just be my libido talking. Meanwhile, I found Fleur Delacour to be underwhelming as the supposed siren of the piece. Girl looked a little pasty and bland by the Jenkins standards of divadom.

But, the fact is that you're all going to go see this movie even if I said it was about as appealing as a box of ear wax flavored Bertie Bott's Beans. Thankfully, the filmmakers delivered a satisfying and guilt-free trifle this time around.

By the way, those merry maniacs over at The Malcontent have been kind enough to post a clip from "The Soup" that will have you thinking Goblet of Fire is going to give "Brokeback Mountain" a run for its money in the homoerotic angst department. Check it out; you'll pee!

Smooches,
Daph