Review of We Are Wizards (2008) by Sarah L — 14 Aug 2009

If you go into this movie expecting a serious expose on American consumer culture...you'll be really disappointed. This film gives us brief glimpses into the world of Harry Potter fandom, complete with interviews with Harry and the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, and Brad Neely (awesome). I learned about an entire new genre of music, known as wizard rock. Learned is, perhaps, not the most accurate of words. It would be better to say, that I was confirmed in my own Harry Potter fandom.

If you've never read the books or seen the movies, you may have no idea what's actually going on here. But the truth is, you don't really need to be a rabid Potter fan to enjoy this film. There are many references to Potter terms and characters...and if you have those under your belt, that's about all you need.

This is probably one of the most hilarious documentaries I have ever seen. Further, it is really well constructed. The editing is great, the music is perfect, and the interviews are consistently interesting.

This film doesn't really tell a story. It doesn't really give an opinion of Harry Potter one way or the other. It makes a rather interesting comment on consumerism; that is it's not anti-consumerism.

The movie has some little profundities here and there - but really the main reason I decided to watch it was because the description involved Harry Potter. I was curious about this world of Harry Potter superfans, musicians writing songs from the characters' points of view, and what, exactly, it means to be a wizard rocker.

I expected to see some perverse version of "Jesus Camp"...except instead of speaking in tongues and worshiping Jesus Christ, there would be speaking in tongues and worshiping the Holy Trinity of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I was a little disappointed at first, when the movie opened with a bearded, glasses-clad man stuttering his way through what sounded like Harry Potter fan fiction. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that this man, whom I did not recognize, was Brad Neely being generally hilarious. And, happily, he appears quite often throughout the film, to continue to be generally hilarious.

I was pleasantly surprised, overall. This movie is godda...no, sorry...potterdamn funny. It doesn't take itself seriously, nor do most of the interviewees (with the exception of speaking of copyright wars and, of course, Jesus).

Final words:

If you are vaguely familiar with Harry Potter, and you can embrace your inner (and possibly outer...if no one is home) nerd, you'll enjoy this movie.

Also, Brad Neely is my new fantasy boyfriend. Sorry, Professor Snape. You've been OUSTED.