How to Eat Fried Worms...Book versus Movie

I came across How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell while shelving books the other day. It brought back such great memories of all the old-school books I used to read. I told myself that I should read it again, but made up a million excuses as to why I couldn't. A few days later I was shelving movies and came across a movie version of the book. "Oh boy, another movie version of a beloved children's book," I thought to myself. "These are hit or miss. Usually miss." I didn't even realize a movie was made of How to Eat Fried Worms. 2006 to be exact. I remembered what I had told myself a few days earlier so with movie in hand I grabbed the book off the shelf. I just had to re-read the book and compare it to the movie...so here it goes.

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Summary of the book:

By way of bet, Billy gets into the uncomfortable position of having to eat fifteen worms. The worms are readily supplied by his opponent, and Billy has a free choice of condiments, from peanut butter to horseradish. With his wavering courage bolstered by the moral support of his friends and family, Billy munches away courageously. But there is many a slip twixt the worm and the lip, and the outcome of the bet is continually in doubt.






Summary of the movie:

The new kid at school faces up to the school bully by taking on a challenge no one has the guts to try in this family-oriented comedy. Billy (Luke Benward) is an 11-year-old boy whose folks have just moved to a new town and is facing the terror of his first day at a new school. It doesn't take long for Billy to run afoul of Joe (Adam Hicks), the school bully, who finds the live bait Billy brought with him and throws it in his face, asking Billy if he eats worms for lunch. Billy tries to gross out Joe by saying yes, he eats worms on a regular basis, and Joe calls his bluff by challenging him to eat ten worms in front of the student body. Billy takes the bet, and suddenly becomes something of a celebrity at school as the first kid to stand up to Joe. Billy also discovers he's caught the eye of Erika (Hallie Kate Eisenberg), a cute girl in his class, but can he actually eat the worms without losing his lunch? With the help of a handful of new friends, Billy preps for the big contest by learning how to eat as much gross stuff as he can, and he gains an unexpected ally in hot-headed Principal Burdock (James Rebhorn). Based on the popular children's book by Thomas Rockwell, How to Eat Fried Worms also features Tom Cavanagh, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, and Clint Howard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The book, How to Eat Fried Worms, is an quick and easy to read classic. I think kids as young as 7 or 8 would like this story of four boys hanging out in the country during summer and one of the boys, Billy, finds himself at the tail end of a bet between his friends. The bet requires him to eat fifteen worms in fifteen days. The storyline is simple yet the characters come alive in situations like how to prepare the worms so they don't taste horrible. Sometimes the creations seem grosser than the actual worm. I really think young boys would appreciate the gross out humor of the story. The story also touches on the brief falling out the boys have over the competitive nature of the bet. There is cheating, fighting, and a few dangerous situations that Billy and his friends must deal with throughout the story. Reading it again after probably over 25 years brought back so many memories. The book still holds up today as one of the best books for kids!

The movie is a whole other story. I don't even know where to begin without sounding like I totally hated the movie but....I totally hated the movie. Hollywood stuck its claws into the laid-back, summertime in the country feeling of the book and tore it apart. It was put back together somewhere in the suburbs with a bunch of wacky and crazy child actor kids. The movie kept the names of the original four boys from the book. Movie Billy is the new kid in at school. He also has a weak stomach as we learn from the opening montage which involves his father pulling the car over every few miles so Billy can throw up. It's not made much better by Billy's little brother sloppily devouring a bean burrito in the back seat. Gross out factor. Check.

The movie had too many differences from the book to count which is why I probably disliked it so much. Let's just say their were more characters, a love interest, 10 worms instead of 15, and a ring that a bully wore that was rumoured to cause sudden death. Ugh. The only similarity I really saw was the fact Billy had to eat worms because of a bet. The director and producers of this movie really took the term "based on the book" to a whole different level.

One good thing I can say is that the movie would probably be enjoyable if I didn't love the book so much and that would be if I was watching it with my 6 year old nephew.

Reviews and such:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/how-eat-fried-worms

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_eat_fried_worms/