I love Twilight “like a fat kid loves cake,” to quote rap artist 50 Cent. This phrase aptly describes my initial reaction to The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the juicy romance movie that my inner feminist wishes I would hate.

New Moon is an adaptation of the second installment of Stephanie Meyer’s four-part Twilight book series about the romantic tension between Bella, an ordinary high school student, and Edward, an immortal vampire. The movie begins with Bella Swan (played by Kristen Steward), perennial outsider in any social circle, be it human, werewolf or vampire, being awoken by her father for a birthday she does not want to celebrate. You see, with this birthday she will be one year older than her immortal lover, the vampire Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattison). Pattison was the main eye candy in this first film; however his role in New Moon is secondary to the rugged werewolf hunk, Jacob, played by Taylor Lautner.

Even the vampires take a secondary role in this movie. Early on at Bella’s birthday party held at the Cullen residence, she cuts her finger, causing one vampire family member to spring at her with eye teeth exposed. Edward is so distraught at the thought that he could be tempted by Bella’s blood that he leads her into the lush interior forest of British Columbia, because to protect her, he must say goodbye. Obviously, it isn’t a wise move to leave Bella, alone in the middle of the forest, cut off from her supply of vampire romance. Bella falls into a deep depression, which she spends sitting in a chair looking out a window for several months, according to the screen captions.

This part of the story line is disturbing; it is painful to watch Bella’s night terrors inspired by the breakdown of her relationship with Edward. Night after night, she writhes in bed, sweating and screaming, only to be woken by her panicked father. Yes, the movie is a love story, but why must Bella be so incapacitated by her love? My guess is if she just moved on, got a job and a life, there wouldn’t be any more movies in the series.

The Twilight movies are successful because they construct desire in a way that speaks specifically to young female viewers. The intense emotions — whether pain, anticipation or lust — are all highly palpable for this target audience. The series employs the typical romance formula; however Twilight’s moral subtext is significant. The books center on the sexual tension between Bella’s yearning for the forbidden fruit, Edward, and his idealized morality, which makes him reject physical love with Bella to protect her from being hurt by him. By the end of the series, the tension is about Bella wanting to have sex with Edward and Edward refusing her. Edward says he is rejecting physical love because he does not want to hurt Bella if he loses control, but, perhaps, he is also worried about a possible afterlife. Selfishly, he wants to save his own soul. Edward is not featured for the majority of New Moon, so viewers can look forward to the next film for more on this theme.

In New Moon the werewolf takes over the spotlight once filled by the sparkling vampire. Jacob is younger than Bella and very easy on the eyes. If his only purpose in the film is to run around shirtless exposing his chiseled six-pack, I would be okay with that. And judging by the squeals coming from the estrogen-packed theatre I was in, the audience would too. Jacob’s casting fits to a T (a tight T) and he wields a mean wrench. This bad boy fixes motorcycles and then gives Bella the ride of her life. Indeed, any good romance movie needs competition between love interests and this charmer more than fills that requirement.

So, whether vampire or werewolf, it seems everyone is in love with Bella. But this is odd because she is devoid of personality and in constant need of a hero to save her. Indeed, it is in these moments of the movie that my inner feminist started to wake up. Bella is a vessel for female constructions of desire, yet she is a totally passive character. In this film, Bella’s sole motivation in life is to be with her vampire lover forever. The main criticism of the Twilight series is that Bella is portrayed as a passive victim. She is not the object of this fantasy love story, she is the subject. She is the lover while the two opposing men, are the objects of her love.

In all, New Moon is definitely a guilty pleasure. After the film’s incredibly contrived ending, I was all like, “Really?” But then I immediately thought, “So when do I get to see it again?”