Interview With the "Wimpy" Man
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
Well, I had never heard of this supposed phenomenon until the Wal-Mart I work at started selling posters and books en masse. I guess this alone will make me see this movie but I have no idea what to expect. Oh well, I'll probably relate to the kid if nothing else; my childhood was a lot like what was defined in this article.
I remember buying a DIary of a WK book abotu summer for a christmas gift exchange. It actually turned out to be a real hit with the gift taker. I read it before I gave it to them to make sure it was good and I enjoyed it a lot.
I think I might just rent this movie on whatever date that happens.
Good, interesting interview. Pretty much what I deduced just by reading one book.
I think I might just rent this movie on whatever date that happens.
Good, interesting interview. Pretty much what I deduced just by reading one book.
Thanks Bob!
I haven't gotten into the WK books at all, my only introduction was a trailer I found online and I have to say. It spoke itself very well. After watching it i had a good realization that this was finally an honest kid's movie. (I can't think of the last honest-to-goodness honestly written kids movie before Where the Wild Things Are, maybe Neverending Story)
Anyway, I'm gonna see it whenever it gets out to PoDunk Red Deer Alberta.
Scott Glasgow
I haven't gotten into the WK books at all, my only introduction was a trailer I found online and I have to say. It spoke itself very well. After watching it i had a good realization that this was finally an honest kid's movie. (I can't think of the last honest-to-goodness honestly written kids movie before Where the Wild Things Are, maybe Neverending Story)
Anyway, I'm gonna see it whenever it gets out to PoDunk Red Deer Alberta.
Scott Glasgow
My wife is a teacher of kids in that age group. It's probably the only series of books she has that aren't 'action-y' that are really popular with the boys.
My brother got those books via a school book order. I've read parts of them (and maybe one of them entirely, can't remember) and they were pretty good.
Wait, he's like "Weird Al Yankovich, [...] Bill Watterson or [...] Joel Hodgson"? Those are three of my FAVORITE people!!! I totally have to meet this Kinney guy now!
Pretty good. It's slightly disorienting at first to see a kid's movie with "pedigree" that's actually aimed squarely at an audience the same age as the characters rather than - even partially - for cynically-nostalgiac grownups. Think "A Christmas Story" in a contemporary setting without the Older Ralphie narration. But if you can get yourself back into that pre-teen mindset where boogers, cafeteria seating and gross foodstuffs really WERE fascinating enough to build entire B-stories around, it's cute and pretty insightful.Tharticus said:
What works best is that it actually takes the gutsy step of making the main character more or less a jerk who you're kind of glad to see get his comeuppance. Not a "bad" kid, just a typically superficial and self-absorbed one - the type that thinks of himself as a Ferris Bueller-style omnicompetent rule-flouter without any evidence to back him up. He thinks he's got this brilliant insight into the way the "tween" social-structure works, but he's clueless to realize that his "dorky fat friend" is the kind of guy who grows up into the "life-of-the-party funny fat guy" as a teenager while HE'S on track to wind up as Randall from "Clerks."
