Thursday, April 22, 2010

Diary of a Wimpy Kid


I have a hard time reviewing kid movies because, well, I'm not a kid. How can I review a kid movie from an adult's perspective? I feel like I need to do it in two parts.

So, from a kid's perspective (and by that I mean what I think I would have liked when I was a kid and what Macy said about it), the movie was pretty good. Macy said it stayed pretty true to the books as far as events and dialogue (I've never read one), and the movie was not only relateable for kids but had obvious kid humor too.

From an adult's perspective, however, I thought it was a major letdown. From what Macy had read to me from the books, I was expecting big-time laughs throughout. Um, no. The clever, comical writing in the books did not translate on the big screen. The movie was long, and slow. By the time it ended I thought for sure we'd been there three hours, and was shocked to see it had been under two. The movie was more serious than humorous, and for most of it you're just feeling bad for the poor guy who can't seem to get a break. But the worst part was the language, or, specifically, the use of the Lord's name in vain. Holy cow. Seriously, people. KID MOVIE here. There were no less than, I would say, ten.

But I loved the message. The entire movie was about being a good friend to your real friends, even if they're not "cool," and not trying to be someone you're not. Also, they touched on middle-school aged kids' relationships with their parents, and how, at that age, whether you want to admit it or not, you still need (and want) Mom and Dad, and that can be cool. Loved it.

There were some funny parts, and the boy who played Rowley made the movie totally worth watching for me. He was the most adorable, genuine character I have seen in a long time, and I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and take him home with me.

So, bottom line, there were some redeeming qualities, but overall, sort of underwhelming.

MOVIE QUEEN RATING: PG13 ("Eh...")

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

good to know, cause i was thinkin about takin ash to it tomorrow night...i guess we'll see the dragon movie instead!

Anonymous said...

oh, and i noticed your almost to 100 followers...shall we have a party!?!

Jennifer said...

I totally just became your 100th follower! I'm pretty sure that makes me a Rock Star or something. Glad to hear about the movie... my kids aren't quite old enough for it anyways.

aubrey said...

Thanks for the review. We have been debating taking Caitlyn....and she it totally on this "did you hear so-and-so use the g-word *gasp*" thing. She hears it everywhere and has to tell me about each one. Anyway, I appreciate having a really reliable source for movie reviews!

Brenda said...

I think we will wait for the DVD release on this one, thanks for the heads up. We really liked How to Train Your Dragon though have you seen that one yet?

Unknown said...

abe took sam to this and they thought 'eh' too. it is definitely a dvd rental.

Alicia Leppert said...

Marcy--we SHOULD have a party!
Jenny--woo hoo! You rock! Thanks!
Brenda--we saw it a couple weeks ago and LOVED it!! I totally recommend it.

Cheeseboy said...

My 2nd grade boy LOVES these books and has been begging to go see the movie. The first graders in my class have mostly all seen it.

I have been hesitant to take him, but I may just have to. Your review makes me want to bring my iPod though.

Anonymous said...

party!!! did someone say PARTY??? time and place please!!!

andrea said...

Good to know, I might skip it all together to keep my opinion of the books.
Can't wait for the party! I think everyone who comes should be awarded $100 to celebrate.

ThEKOB มะนาวสยาม said...

Oh Party!

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