Happy Kids, Inc: 1D

By Meg Hodson

Last night with my daughter, I attended the one-weekend-only exclusive screening of the new One Direction concert film Where We Are. My daughter and I love these girls' night outs! We've done them before, once for the One Direction This Is Us film; another for 1D school supplies. One Direction has not made a concert stop in Portland, Oregon yet (fingers still crossed!) so I thought this was a perfect substitution for the real thing.

After a nice dinner together, we headed to the movie. It was only playing at one theater in the area for a few screenings. We got there early and were the second to arrive! We got perfect seats. It kind of reminded me of when I was younger and went to buy concert tickets in the pre-internet days. Remember "camping out" and standing in line for tickets? I suppose our modern day version of that is waiting for the new iPhone at the Apple Store. The theater quickly filled, with most guests wearing their favorite One Direction shirts and gear.

Girls Night At The Where We Are 1D One Direction Movie

As we waited, fans were getting excited, too.....

The film started with a casual, fun interview conducted by Ben Winston, the film's main producer. The One Direction boys were comfortable, genuine, a bit funny, and, of course, adorable. They touched on the tour and tour life. It was a good lead-in to the concert we were about to see.

The concert film was everything a One Direction would crave: "front row" viewing of the stage, close-ups and swoonworthy shots of all the boys, and a great selection of their music. The audience squealed and shrieked with delight at the high notes and close-ups of their favorite 1D member. The concert film covered most of the songs off their current album, Midnight Memories. They also included classic hits like What Makes You Beautiful, One Thing, Little Things (complete with phone flashlights waving through the theater audience), and their anthem Best Song Ever.

I understand this was meant to be a concert experience....and the film delivered on that. By the end, theater goers were dancing in their seats. My daughter did remark, though, that she would've have liked a bit more behind-the-scenes coverage in between some of the footage (similar to their first film, This Is Us). We got this ever so slightly when the boys (except Liam) took a bathroom break backstage. She still, though, had a great time and enjoyed the film. To be honest, I enjoyed it, too.

Look for Where We Are Coming to DVD November 28th.

P.S. Please come to Portland, Oregon!!!

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What is it about having a favorite boy band? For me, it was Duran Duran (well, and 'N Sync, I am not ashamed to admit it). For my daughter, it's One Direction. And I am over the moon about it. Shallow? Maybe a little. Fun? Most definitely.

How does this just happen? It's not like I sought out a list of boy bands and had her choose her favorite. She has a love of music and dance and has naturally gravitated toward listening to pop music. She does download music on her iPod (with our approval) and is "in tune" with pop culture to a certain extent. One Direction entered our lives. I had to learn all the names. What is Harry's favorite color again? Who says their Mum is their best friend? What followed was dance party after dance party of their music, memorizing lyrics, having FUN. And I have to admit, I was having fun, too. It had me reliving my boy band days. I have no shame in admitting that I like their music, too, and if we went to their concert, I would be singing and dancing as much as my daughter would be!

Fast forward to today. We are barraged with back-to-school advertisements, flyers in the papers, ads in our inbox. We just happen to receive a post card from Office Depot, highlighting their exclusive line of One Direction supplies: binders, folders, decals, and composition books. Apparently washi tape and bracelets are school supplies, too, because they had those, too! My daughter squeals as she dances the post card back and forth in her hands. Well, I knew where we were going soon......she didn't have to twist my arm, I was happy to oblige.

Of course, picking our what we wanted to buy had it's own challenges. Challenging, you say? Well, when you are told you can't have one of everything, yes, it's challenging.

Then, for the highlight of the trip: the life size poster placed for photo ops. I can't tell you how in love I am with these pictures! I am going to draw a parallel here between my love for Vegas and my love for these photos (wait for it.......). For me and Vegas, you know maybe you shouldn't love it as much as you do, but you do......and it's a guilty pleasure that you have deemed acceptable, and let's face it, enjoyable. So, on that note, I will say....nicely played Office Depot, nicely played. It's a stellar hand, a royal flush.