Some people on these boards apparently want to maintain their adolescence by believing what they read as children has value in the mature world. I watched this with my daughter the day -- she liked the cover -- and realized that I'd read this when I was in school, a long time ago. I hated this when I was 14 -- too many characters, too many cute elements, such smarmy inside jokes. The whole thing left a bitter taste in my mouth, one that I've been trying to erase for a long time. The movie finally did it. Cute but not stupid, you never felt as if you were out of it because you didn't see what the point was. It never patronized or condescended. It was truly liberating.
Never mind comparisons to the book, which if you hated you'll love the movie and if you loved the book, you'll hate the movie -- twas ever thus; the movie itself was well acted, beautifully shot, cleverly designed and even done where I grew up in Milwaukee. All in all, excellent. My daughter liked it too. She's 9.
Never mind comparisons to the book, which if you hated you'll love the movie and if you loved the book, you'll hate the movie -- twas ever thus; the movie itself was well acted, beautifully shot, cleverly designed and even done where I grew up in Milwaukee. All in all, excellent. My daughter liked it too. She's 9.