Interview With the "Wimpy" Man | |
Interview With the "Wimpy" Man Moviebob interviews the bestselling author about books, videogames and his new movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. | |
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. | |
The book is quite funny, I've read a few excerpts, and I know a few people who are going to see it already (my sister and her daughter, likely). I really can't wait, to be honest. | |
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. | |
Thanks Bob! 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. | |
Bob does a relay good interview, claps for Bob. | |
I have not read the books but I wouldn't mind checking out the movie. | |
By the way, how does the movie fare? | |
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! | |
I used to read that in fifth grade during "computer lab"... Nostalgia! | |
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. 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." | |
One of my friends is a big fan of those books; I've never read them, but the ads for the movies have all made me laugh. I'll probably go and see it with that friend, as it looks quite good. | |