Middle school. Even if you’re one of the popular kids, it’s guaranteed to be the most awkward period of your life. Diary of a Wimpy Kid lets the viewer tag along for this journey as undertaken by Greg Heffley (played by Zachary Gordon), an incoming sixth grader.
Greg thinks he knows exactly what he needs to do to become one of the cool crowd. But no matter what he does, he fails. Joining the wrestling team results in him getting his ass handed to him by a girl and the safety patrol isn’t exactly the kind of activity the popular kids are clamoring to be sign up for. To make things even worse for Greg, his best friend Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron) succeeds at everything Greg sucks at. Rowley’s broken hand (courtesy of Greg, of course) and lame cartoons bring him a lot of attention and create a rift between Rowley and Greg. Can Greg get over himself and his quest for popularity in time to save his friendship with Rowley, or is he destined to be BFFs with Fregley, the school freak?
At this point, it’s time to question one thing: why is Rowley so popular? Greg is the most adorable little boy ever (although I had trouble believing that he was old enough to be in sixth grade, but maybe that is because I am ancient compared to him) and Rowley is a rotund little red-headed boy with a t-shirt that has a picture of him and his mom on it. No way would a pudgy ginger ever be part of the upper crust of middle school society. But regardless of plausibility, Rowley is cooler than Greg for one reason: his authenticity. He’s still the same kid who wants to “play” after school and doesn’t understand girls, even telling his classmate he has a cute butt because he overheard some female classmates talking about it.
Other than this nice but perhaps overplayed moral of the story, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is pretty awesome. The writers did an amazing job of adapting Jeff Kinney’s tale, considering that the base material for the story is actually a novel in comic book form. Likewise, the cast was well chosen. Somehow, Zachary Gordon makes Greg relateable even when he is at his least likable, and believe me, there are times when he is a really terrible friend, brother, and person.
One of the best parts of this movie is that it doesn’t play up the stereotypes. Yes, Greg is one of the shorter kids in the school, and he’s not at the top of the food chain. But the other kids in the school aren’t walking around with little labels over their heads, proclaiming that the student is a jock or a band geek. They’re just regular kids who are still trying to figure out where they fit in, with parents who embarrass them, brothers who scare them into prepping for school in the middle of the night a week before school starts, and are secretly afraid of getting the cheese touch, which is the equivalent of committing social suicide without even trying.
Overall, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a funny family comedy that anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of wedgie, beaten up by a bully, or without a seat at lunchtime can sympathize with. Or you know, if that’s not your thing and you’re feeling really mean, show it to your kid brother before his first day of junior high. Everybody wins.
DVD Bonus Features
Along with a feature commentary and theatrical trailer, there are also several deleted diary pages. These range from cute to creepy, including scenes in which Fregley eats French fries he found on the playground and makes a necklace from toenail clippings and Rowley’s lost zoo-wee mama cartoons.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" is on sale August 3, 2010 and is rated PG. Children & Family, Comedy. Written by Jackie Filgo, Jeff Filgo, Gabe Sachs, Jeff Judah, Jeff Kinney. Starring Chloe Moretz, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Robert Capron, Steve Zahn, Zachary Gordon.
