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Rowley (Robert Capron), left, and Greg (Zachary Gordon) chuckle with Angie (Chloe Moretz) in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” |
From the very beginning, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” kept reminding me of some other motion picture. I couldn’t pin it down right away.
Then, it came to me: “A Christmas Story.”
Both are narrated by young boys who feel powerless in a world dominated by adults, bullies and stupid rules.
Both are hilarious in their bull’s-eye observations about the drawbacks of being kids.
Both project a certain sweetness that doesn’t feel cloying or manufactured.
And, as I found out after seeing “Wimpy Kid,” the filmmakers had actually talked about using “A Christmas Story” as an inspiration for how to convert author Jeff Kinney’s best-selling book series to the silver screen.
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is narrated by Greg Heffley, an affable Everykid played with winning sincerity by 11-year-old Zachary Gordon. As he embarks on his voyage through middle school (the dumbest idea ever invented, he says), Greg wants to write down everything that happens so he’ll never forget.
He wanted a “journal.” But Mom bought him a “diary.”
Bummer. (Read more…)