Comedy- Research (Portfolio Project Post 4) MISSING CITES

Hi Glorp! Just a heads up, I'm leaving to a competition from the 27th to the 3rd, so excuse any extra weirdness inside my next few posts. I'm stretching myself thin trying to eliminate most of my schoolwork before I leave, so giving everything the attention it deserves is- like 100% harder. But, it'll be okay cuz I'm going to kick ass at my comp.

I watched the entire Diary of a Whimpey Kid: Rodrik Rules because its one of my favorites, but I'm only going to refer to a few moments in this post because I want to keep it short and sweet. 

(Sachs, G., Judah, J., & Kinney, J. 2011,)

Rodrick Rules is meant to be more of an entertainment then a genuine representation of reality. Situations are exadurated and characters behave dramatically. Take, for example, Freddly. A charcter within the movie who's weird. That being said, his weirdness is exacurated in the film more than it would be in any other film. This helps bring Greg, our protagonist, into these wacky situations that drive the plot. I also think that it simulates how everything feels extremely significant and impactful when your younger. It's not until you grow up and worser situation that regular situations start to feel-- for lack of a better word-- regular.

The movie also uses unusual methods not characteristic of coming of age films. Like in this movie clip where Rodrik and George pull into a gas station and eat hotdogs together. 

There's a speed ramp for Rodrick's car parking, where the clip is fast at first and then slows down. This is very jarring to show the contrast between his mother's expectation of the boy's hanging out versus the boys actually hanging out. Then, when they enter, there are several jump cuts, meant to mimic the excitement of the boys. This is unusual from what I've seen in coming of age films, where the idea is to portray reality. I'm assuming this difference in media techniques is because Rodrik Rules is meant to be relatable to people who are currently kids, not nostalgic to people who aren't. Hence it's use of things not typical of a coming of age film.

I want to include here, how Rodrik Rules represents Greg's imagination. Like here, where an image of Greg as Dorthey in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz shows up on screen, it's assumed that's what Greg is visualizing when his theater teacher says that he'd make a wonderful Dorthey. This is, I think, a lovely way to represent how Greg views the world, it demonstrates how creative he is. If I decide to add any kind of not realistic film technique, I want to do it in a similar way. Where it's used to portray something unique about the character.

CITES!

Sachs, G., Judah, J., & Kinney, J. (2011, March 17). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650043/ ‌

The Movie Clips Dude 4K. (2024, February 14). Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011) - Rodrick & Greg Hanging Out Scene [2K HD]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH9h3TL9vIY ‌

Entertainment Access. (2020). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Audition Scene - DIARY OF A WIMPY KID (2010) Movie Clip. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_hnkMm4hBw ‌