www.MyObssession.com

Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with Les Miserables.   I found out probably 2+ years ago that Les Miserables was being redone and I anxiously waited, and watched IMDB as it was cast, and then pictures and clips were published on the Les Miserables Facebook page! I was their biggest fan.

Then I booked plane tickets home to watch the movie in theaters opening night with my mom and one of my best friends. We made plans to stay in a hotel, and shop and have a wonderful girls day out! I was slightly sad that I wouldn't be watching it with my husband but he assured me a girls weekend would be wonderful.

Then they changed the date.

Booo. The new date was Christmas day. Now if there is one thing I love more than Les Miserables - it's Christmas. What do I do now? I've never, ever gone to the movies on Christmas day, and I doubted that there would be a midnight showing on Christmas Eve.... but I bought tickets anyway, the first day that you could for tickets for Christmas Day.

I only saw it twice in theaters, but that's not because I didn't want to see it more, it's a money issue.

Next, there is the pre-order to own the movie itself. I jumped on the first offer that came out to pre-order it, but something inside me kept saying "this isn't right...? I pre-ordered it, but I won't get it the day it comes out because they ship it that day, so I'll get it 3-4 days later???"

So last night I pulled up my e-mail, checked the tracking information and saw that it hadn't been shipped yet.  You better believe I cancelled the order and asked Nick to make sure I woke up at 11:45 to drive to the store to buy it! What kind of fan would I be if I didn't get the movie at Midnight?

I had pre-oredered from Target, and so I was thinking Target - but halfway there, my mind woke up and I realized they aren't open 24 hrs/day like all other Super Stores are. So we took a detour to the nearest 24/hr store which happened to be the Wal-mart in Englewood. We got in there, and there wasn't even a display up yet, we found this copy and one other copy thrown hap-haphazardly on an endcap. I have no idea what that was about.

I really didn't want to even put it in the DVD player last night because I knew there was no way I'd be able to fall asleep with it on. But Nick still had Greek Homework to do for his last class today before Spring Break and he wanted to have it on in the background. How could I deny him when he do graciously drove me to Target and Wal-mart in the middle of the night to get a movie I didn't even want to watch right away??  (that makes me smile just thinking about it)

Therefore I laid on the couch, curled up with an afghan over my head because he had all the lights for Greek, peaking through one of the holes, staying up WAY past my bedtime (have to work at 7:30am). I remember Nick taking me to bed around 2:30 I think saying - so how do you feel about getting up in 4 hours?!

COFFEE!!!!

Have I told you how my obsession began?  In Grade 5 (I would have been 10 years old) when I first saw the 10th Anniversary Dream Cast Concert movie. My homeroom teacher loved the movie that came out 2 year prior to my first time seeing it. I had him again the next year and again he "forced" the class to watch it. By this time I was smitten and had to own my own copy (my first copy is on VHS, I've since also bought it on DVD)!

From then on - I watched it like every Sunday afternoon for my afternoon nap and so many other days in between. I fell in love with the music and would rotate through which song was my second favourite! My favourite has always been "Do You Hear the People Sing". My parent's learned the music by default and also fell in love.

I began collecting Les Mis stuff; the violin music for it, a really old copy of Victor Hugo's book,  a newer-readable copy of the book, the Liam Neeson/Clare Danes version of the movie (not musical), that same movie in Russian (saw it in a store in Ukraine - couldn't resist!), then I began collecting ticket stubs. I saw Colm Wilkinson in concert in Chatham my Freshman year of College! When I was in Paris I had my picture taken on Victor Hugo Street.

I saw Les Mis done by my High School my sophomore year of college, I also saw my first REAL production of it at the Queen's Theater in London, England!

Then I saw it again in Detroit with my family for my birthday (click here for a post on that!).

I quickly bought up the 25th Anniversary Concert DVD, and the rest is written at the top of this blog. I've also bought the cast/picture books that I've sold at each of these plays I've been too!

I love that my husband quickly fell in love with this music and story and now sings at the top of his lungs with me on long road trips or a random Tuesday evening! I can't clean, or do crafts without some version of it on in the background, and now I have a new version to add to my choices.

I didn't particularly love Mr. Robertson as a teacher, my 5th and 6th grade teacher, but I will be forever indebted to him for introducing me to this story. I had the wonderful chance on Christmas day to be that person to my friend Mariah. Her mom had bought tickets to go with us to the movie Christmas Day and probably 30 minutes before we got there, I was the one to share the storyline with her for the first time. I sat beside her, as she the tears raced down her checks when one person after another died.She has since seen it 9 times in theatres!

 I JUST got this in my e-mail and I wanted to reply back - "I ALREADY DO!!!"

.......and that's it... anybody else as obsessed with something as much as me??? (besides Sarah's obsession with Disney?)

Our Pastor just preached a sermon on Les Mis which was part of his God in the Movie's Series, that helps us reach out to non-believers using secular tools such as popular movies that everyone watches!

Here's my church's summary of the movie

Here's my summary of the movie:
It's a touching redemption story, and the music is soooo powerful it'll knock your socks off!

DISCLAIMER: I'm going to summarize it as best I can for you ok? if you don't want to read it, you just want to watch it, don't read below!

Early 1800 France:
Jean val Jean spends 19 years in Prison for stealing a mouthful of bread to feed his family.  5 years for stealing, 14 because he tried to escape.  The movie starts on the day he is gets out. Javert is assigned to be his Parole Officer.

Jean val Jean gets out, and no one will give him work because he's a criminal, but he comes across a bishop who feeds him and gives him a bed to sleep on .  He wakes up in the middle of the night and steals a bunch of silver, but he gets caught and brought back to the Bishop. The Bishop has mercy on him and says that he GAVE him the silver, and scolds him for not taking the finest candlesticks also. Then after the cops are gone, tells him that he "bought his sole for God" and that he has to go and do good with his life now.

He breaks parole, and goes and makes a life for himself, running a large factory and becoming the mayor of a city. Thus begins the chase; Javert chase's Val Jean throughout the whole movie for breaking parole. He should get put back in Prison. At the factory one of his workers; Fantine gets fired for having a child on the side, she sends all her money to a family who is taking care of her child for her, since the father ran out on them. She ends up having to sell her body, hair, teeth and jewelry to send money to her child. She ends of dying of an "infection" (that's a guess - it could be aids but I think an infection is likely considering the conditions she's living in), but before she dies, Val Jean or Mr. Madeline as he's going by now, promises to get her child and raise her.

Javert catches up with him, and tells him that he thought that he; the mayor was Val Jean but he was wrong, they caught the actual guy, so Jean val Jean has to decide if he'll let this guy take his punishment for him, or if he will own up to it and leave behind the factory and town and go back to Prison.

He does own up to it, but gets away and goes and gets the little girl: Cosette. She's like 8 years old when he gets her, and the go live in a convent together where Javert can't find them. The the movie flashes forward 10 years.

There are bunch of college students in the town who want to see change in Paris and plan a revolution. Right before they're to go into battle - Marius (the 2nd in command leader), see's Cosette and it's Love at First Sight. Marius goes into the barricades anyway, but Val Jean learns of their love and goes and fights beside him, carrying him out when he gets injured. Javert also went to help in the battle, but he was really just a spy and the students figured it out and gave him over to Val Jean to kill, but he doesn't kill him. He basically forgives him and says - you've followed the law all your life, but I'm not a bad guy.  Then Javert realizes he's wasted his life chasing a good guy and jumps off a bridge to his death.  All the other students die except Marius.

Marius and Cosette get married and Val Jean dies a happy, but too soon death, but not before being thanked by the ghost of Fantine and the Bishop for doing good with his life.