Two brother, Greg and Roderick, convince their parents to
take a four-day-long road trip to their grandmother’s 90th birthday
party, but secretly plan to divert the trip to a nearby video gaming
convention; Greg hopes to increase his esteem in the mind of his middle-school
peers while teenage Rodrick hopes to win a video game competition in order to
earn money to fix his van. The road trip gets off to a rough start when their
mother decrees that the trip will have no technology. Along the way the family
runs into disasters that might feel at home in a Chevy Chase film.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
There is no adoption connection. The film draws much from
family relationships in general
Strong Points
There is a statement that parents set guidelines because they
love children. Greg’s mom affirms that she’ll never give up on him and will always
love him.
There’s a strong sense of the importance of family and
family history.
Greg affirms that time with his family is “really not that
bad.”
Challenges
Greg jokingly says that he likes his family, but that he’s “not
sure we should live with each other… Maybe see each other a few times a year.”
Greg and Rodrick hold up a sign in their car saying that the
drivers (their parents) are kidnapping them.
A police officer briefly yells at them for this stunt.
Greg and his dad each discover that the other is secretly
using technology. They conspire to keep the secret from the mom, but she
eventually finds out. She accuses Greg of not caring bout family, and Greg
accuses her of not caring about the things he loves. Ultimately, she says that
she gives up on trying to guide Greg, but he reconciles with her.
Greg is pursued by the eccentric Mr. Beardo. On one occasion,
Greg accidentally slips into the wrong hotel room and crawls into bed next to
Mr. Beardo. They spend the night asleep next to each other, and panic when they
realize that Greg is in the wrong hotel room. Later, Greg sneaks into Mr.
Beardo’s room, but when Mr. Beardo comes back, Greg hides behind the shower
curtain and has to listen to Mr. Beardo relieve himself. There are some other
gross bodily-fluid scenes.
Recommendation
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is a family road-trip
disaster that reminded me of the Vacation movies I remember from years ago. The
family gets into some far-fetched, sometimes gross situations, but ultimately sticks
together. This film is told from the perspective of twelve-year-old Greg, who ultimately
decides that spending time with his family is alright. Some parents won’t
appreciate the gross scenes of the film or Greg’s and Rodrick’s attempts at deceiving
their parents, but ultimately the film shows that parents are forgiving and
persistent in their love for their kids, and that the boundaries they set are
set with the kids’ best interests in mind. This one seems like a good fit for
kids ages 9-12 or so.
Questions for
Discussion
Why did Greg want to outgrow the name that his classmates
teased him with? Do you think it’s realistic that, ultimately, the name gained
him popularity?
What’s the craziest trip we’ve ever been on? If you could
design a trip for us, where would we go?
How much time should someone spend on a smart phone? Do
smartphones help or hurt friendships and family, or is it a mix?
Greg felt that he had no control over his life. Was he right
or wrong? What ways do you control your life? Which things don’t you get to
choose? In what ways is that different for adults, and in what ways do you
think it’s the same for adults?
What do you like best about family time? What activities
would you like to do as a family?
What’s the best way to sew together two family histories?
Why do you think parents make rules for kids? What rules
make the most sense to you?
If you made rules for other kids, what would they be?
No comments:
Post a Comment