Diary of a Wimpy Kid isn't bad...but it didn't nearly live up to the hype created when this film was released. The film was followed by several sequels based on the books of the same name. Average is about the only adjective I can think of to describe this film.
My son was entering middle school when this film was released, which put him directly in the target audience for this Middle School oriented film. Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) is an average kid who is given sage advice from his older brother (Rodrick, played by Devon Bostick) about navigating the waters of the awkward Middle School years. His advice is simple. Don't. Don't do anything but fly under the radar. Greg has other ideas. He wants to make it to the prized pages of the year book for an amazing accomplishment. That drive sets Greg on a collision course with failure.
It doesn't help that Greg's best friend Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron) is stuck in Elementary School mode. Rowley expects people to accept him as he is...pink bicycle, loud clothing, red plastic raincoat and all. Rather than accepting Rowley for who he is (and being himself), Greg tries to force change. By trying to excel in the weird world of Middle School politics, where kids are neither kids nor adults, Greg draws negative attention to himself. Greg also finds himself dealing with moral quandaries that he deals with in a way that shows that he may be the one with some "growing up" to do. Rowley and Greg end up parting ways...leaving Greg to decide if he wants to reconcile the friendship.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid is an average story that was boring and tedious at times. The story itself didn't provide anything new. Even the interaction between the real world and Greg's cartoon world has been done before (I can't remember the name of that 1980s movie). In a nutshell, the writing wasn't anything special. The movie is based on a book by Jeff Kinney, which appears to have received much higher recommendations than the film so far...so I would surmise that the book is better than the film. The book was adapted to screenplay by Jackie and Jeff Filgo, Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. It seems like Director Thor Freudenthal was simply cashing in on a successful book and could have tweaked this script quite a bit. I was bored more than anything. That's not an easy thing to accomplish in a somewhat short film with a 94 minute run time.
I was more content with the acting. Gordon seemed like a good choice for the central character. Not too geeky, not too exceptional...an average kid that could easily have blended in if he had chosen to. Gordon does an excellent job of breathing life into his character...an overachieving dreamer. Gordon and Capron work well together. Capron, who possesses a naivete that clings to the simpler life in Elementary School was fun to watch as he is thrust into the limelight unwittingly. Capron and Gordon were strong and were supported by strong performances by Chloe Moretz, Bostick, Grayson Russell (as a booger picking outcast), and a Nellie Olsen-like Patty Ferrell (Laine MacNeil). Nellie Olsen was the spoiled brat on Little House on the Prairie for those who are wondering.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid failed to capture my imagination. It didn't really seem to me to be trying. It captured the essence of average and seemed to settle. I wish Freudenthal had set his sights a little higher. I expected to at least be entertained. Booger chases and spoiled cheese along with toilet jokes just don't do enough to entertain me. This film was intellectually lazy, taking the easy way out with a topic that could have been exceptional. Even my son put this film at three and a half stars, claiming it was too short and not as good as he thought it would be. An average film that may be worth streaming if you have younger kids. 6/10.
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