Their were a couple of stand out weird kids for me growing up. One in particular in primary school that I can recall was a really smelly girl called Monica. She had a truly weird scent about her; I may be able to identify that smell as an adult and probably not think of it as that weird, but back then, my young and stupid brain thought that Monica really stank. You see, I don't remember what she stank of exactly, I just remember that everyone knew that she stank. I don't think that I ever picked on her about it or anything, but I do recall that she was generally a bit of an outcast, some kids did give her a tough time and looking back on it, we all treated her pretty badly just because she smelt weird.
Generally speaking, kids are bloody ruthless mutha fuckers when it comes to ostracizing other kids. Any sign of weirdness and boom, you're on the outer and labeled the weird kid for all of eternity. Even years later, when the weird kid works that 'weird shit' out that made them weird and sorts it out, they still never really bounce back to full status again. Let's be honest, we know that this is true because we can still clearly recall the weird kid from our childhood, we never forget those labels, that horrid shit sticks.
I recall being deathly afraid of being singled out, especially when I was in primary school. Being accepted by your peers was a right of passage, and I wanted in. I often chose to align myself with kids that were way cooler and more popular than myself in an attempt to be part of the crowd, unfortunately a lot of them were also assholes. It wasn't until I got to my upper years at secondary school that I worked out what an ostracizing load of shit it was all was and how little I actually gave a fuck about what my peers thought of me. But the years leading up to that realisation were hardly glittering, and when I think of the petty shit that I accepted as good reasons to ostracize someone, I feel pretty horrible.
Poor Monica, I wonder if she ever recovered from being called stinky all those years ago. I know that some of the cruel crap that was said to me as a kid has certainly had an affect on the type of adult I have become, I can't imagine that being the weird kid would be easy to forget. Sometimes I do wonder about the weird kids, and how they all turned out. I like to think that they all got successful and super happy and are going to bed content every night, secretly flipping us all the bird as they climb into their four poster beds with their super hot partners.
All that I know for sure is that I am genuinely sorry to anyone that I may have upset or offended over my formative years, a time when my brain was under construction and I was probably a total dickface. And sorry to Monica, wherever you are now, for going along with the smelly thing in primary school and allowing the other kids to make you feel like shit, that was not cool of me at all. I hope that you can forgive me as you climb out of your bubble-bath spa, smelling like a rose and banging your Fassbender look alike husband every night under your Egyptian cotton sheets, I so hope you can.
Release Date: 2010, 2011, 2012
Rating: PG
Running Time: 286 mins total
Based on the successful book series of the same name by Jeff Kinney, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series describes the mis-adventures of Greg Heffley, a kid that is about to embark on the trials and tribulations of middle school.
Greg is just your average middle child, his parents don't really understand him, his older wannabe rock star brother Roderick treats him like crap and his little brother Manny is the apple of his parent's eyes. With his best friend Rowley, they try to navigate their way through a series of pitfalls as they enter the world of middle school.
These are fabulous family movies, the cast is consistent and believable, the events are somewhat tangible and the coming-of-age awkwardness is undeniably funny. The movies have fantastic soundtracks, which really adds to the punch and flow of the films. I saw all of these movies with my kids at the cinema, and I think that I laughed out loud more than anyone else, they really tickled my funny bone.
FINAL SAY: Beware the cheese-touch!
3.5 Chili Peppers