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REVIEWS OF NEW MOVIES
BY PETER CANAVESE Diary of a Wimpy Kid ★★ Rated PG for some rude humor and language 1 hour, 30 minutes
Remember Beaver Cleaver and Larry Mondello? These innocent buddies used to get into jams every week on “Leave It to Beaver,� always learning (and teaching) a lesson in the process. Adjust for cultural inflation and you get the new kid flick “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.� I say, “Adjust for cultural inflation� because Wally never called his brother “turd burglar,� Ward never tried dousing trick-or-treaters with water, and Beaver’s crushes never read “HOWL.� Still, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid� — based on Jeff Kinney’s illustrated novels — plays it pretty safe, more “Beaver� than “Malcolm in the Middle.� Think Disney Channel, if slightly less plastic fantastic. The point is that Thor Freudenthal’s movie is sitcomedic, an episodic accounting of a school year in the life of seventh-graders. It’s not unpleasant for adults, who can find nostalgia in such middleschool touchstones as popularity ranking, lunchtable seating, scary local legends and gym-class horrors (plus, you get Steve Zahn and Rachael Harris as the parents). Certainly, it’ll be catnip for the grade-school set. Still, with ticket prices being what they are, this generic outing isn’t a very compelling reason to leave the comfort of the sofa and its basiccable kiddie fare. Zachary Gordon plays pint-sized Greg Heffley, whose only concern is becoming a class hero. He has a roly-poly best bud in Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron), a sweet and loyal friend who plays along with Greg’s schemes — to a point. Naturally, nothing works for Greg. Joining wrestling leads to a series of
humiliations, including being pinned by his high-strung female nemesis, Patty Ferrell (Laine MacNeil). And when he tries out for the school play, he learns he’s a boy soprano, suitable not for the leads but for ... you guessed it, the tree. Greg’s rapacious pursuit of coolness makes him a selfish jerk for much of the film’s running time, eventually alienating his only friend. Kids will probably root for Greg anyway, if only with the understanding that eventually he’ll learn what’s really important and redeem himself with a grand gesture. Perhaps that path to good karma might also win him the respect of Angie Steadman (rising star Chloe Moretz), the Ginsberg reader who’s obviously wise beyond her years. Gordon is well cast to be believably uncool for his age group while also roguishly charming in a way all boys like to think they are. Much of Greg’s wit remains private in his diary, to which the audience is privy through narration. Freudenthal predictably works in a few animated bits to evoke Kinney’s illustrations, but otherwise “Diary� is styleless, with old-school costuming (Converse and ringer-Ts) and Canadian locations that evoke a Rockwellian suburban America that never quite existed. Then again, Norman Rockwell never imagined what would happen if a slice of Swiss cheese stayed rotting on the school blacktop. Answer: It would have “nuclear cooties�... so not cool.
POETIC PLEASANTON BY DEBORAH GROSSMAN
Inspiring youth poetry This month, the Pleasanton Teen Poets Laureate visited Hart Middle School, the alma mater of Foothill High School Teen Poet Laureate Nick Quan. Nick and Vivienne Chen, Amador Valley High School’s Teen Poet Laureate, spoke to the students about why they enjoy and read several poems. After the presentations, the students were full of questions about classes at their high schools. In January, Nick, Vivienne and I wrote poems on the theme of “matches.� Last month we shared Vivienne’s poem. This month, we highlight Nick’s poem called “Hot Flood.� Nick described his poem this way: “The poem is a simulation of the process of my writing a poem through an example. Writing for me is like lighting a match and having it boil your spirit over your pencil and then having it pour onto the paper.�
Hot Flood By Nick Quan
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little torches are held in the lair of my spirit hanging on the walls that hold my emotion my spirit ignites and the fire of my being pours into history a small relic of my feeling to forever char its place left amongst the countless collections of time
Coming soon: The Pleasanton Poetry, Prose & the Arts Festival The Pleasanton Poetry, Prose & the Arts Festival takes place on April 17 and 18. There are many youth seminars, songwriting and storytelling workshops and minicourses on writing fiction and on publishing poetry. Final registration deadline is April 9. For more information, contact Dave Wright at 484-0614 or dawright@sbcglobal.net, or visit www.PleasantonArts. org or www.facebook.com/PleasantonPoetry. Deborah Grossman is Pleasanton’s Poet Laureate, pleasantonpoetry@ gmail.com.
The Pleasanton Community of Character Collaborative invites you to the 4th Annual Community of Character Luncheon to celebrate Juanita Haugen Civic Engagement Winners Cost is $35 per person (this includes a $5 donation to the Community of Character Juanita Haugen Civic Engagement Scholarship Fund ) Complete the information below and fax to: 925.846.9697 or mail check to: Payable to Community of Character PO Box 516 Pleasanton, CA 94566 Please reserve
seats for the luncheon.
My check for $ is enclosed or charge my credit card with the information below. I can not attend, but here is my donation to support the Community of Character Collaborative. Contact Name
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DISCOVER
Keynote:
Random Acts of Character How the small things can make a difference in our community Presented by DeRionne P. Pollard, Ph.D. President, Las Positas College Date: THURSDAY MAY 6, 2010 from 11:30 - 1:00 Location: CASTLEWOOD COUNTRY CLUB 707 COUNTRY CLUB CIR. PLEASANTON
Payment is required at the time of your reservation. A 24-hour cancellation notice is required for a refund or credit. (925) 846-5853 ext. 203
For information about our organization or on becoming an Organization of Character visit www.communityofcharacter.org or contact us at P.O. Box 516 Pleasanton, CA 94566.
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Pleasanton WeeklyĂŠUĂŠMarch 26, 2010ĂŠU Page 11