I had a lovely afternoon "date" with my youngest son as we went to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Now, I went into this movie at a total disadvantage--I hadn't read a single one of the books (written by Jeff Kinney), and my Charlie had read them all. Still, it was my "turn," as hubby took the boy to see Percy Jackson, Lightning Thief a few weeks ago.
I think I got the better deal!
Diary of a Wimpy Kid was a fun, fun movie. OK, there was the usual amount of potty humor, booger humor (which I actually couldn't watch...), and generally juvenile chuckles, but the film had a certain little charm to it--genuine laugh-out-loud moments and a refusal to let the adult characters come in and take over to save the day. In true kid-movie fashion, the grown-ups are marginalized while the kids duke out the plot points, and the cast here does a marvelous job. The movie maintains innocence despite opportunities to swing otherwise, keeps you giggling without totally grossing you out, and refuses to pander to the big, emotional aaaaawwwwww moment that always seems so contrived in the typical Disney channel fare.
Great cinema? No. Harmless entertainment? Definately. I'm now a huge believer in the "cheese touch," and wanted to jump up and cheer when I heard the first few notes of this Bonnie Tyler classic.
I think what I enjoyed most, though, strangely enough, was the audience experience. The theater was packed (opening day for the movie), and the average age of the audience member was probably 9. Yet, they were all enthralled. I loved all the little whispers of (I remember that in the book), or (I love this part!). But none of their participatory remarks were rude or distracting. In short, give me a movie theater full of 9-year-olds over a theater with 9 teen-agers any day.
My boys are obsessed with these books... and equally obsessed with the movie.
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