I'll admit that I've only read a few pages of Jeff Kinsey's popular, wildly successful books. However, my younger brother had read the entire series and the trailers did not look half as bad as the majority of modern-day kids' movies, so I was not opposed to seeing it. I had no real expectations for this and for the most part, I can say that I was quite satisfied.
Unlike most movies about school nowadays, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid does not involve high schoolers, but instead it takes a look at the hazardous, chaotic first year of middle school, where kids like Greg Huxley, our protagonist, who "haven't hit their growth spurt yet are put with gorillas who need to shave twice a day." This makes the movie somewhat refreshing as it does not focus on crushes and cliques but on friendship and the human desire to conform. Having gone through middle school in a private school, I cannot say I identify with all that Greg and co. go through, but I did empathize with his need to find his place as an individual and his drive to be accepted by others. Wimpy Kid has a sense of sincerity that most school-related movies lack. Unlike most school movies where the so-called "loser" main character is actually surrounded by dozens of friends, Greg is truly a loner, spending his days with his equally uncool best friend, Rowley, and trying not to get beat up or laughed at by his fellow classmates. Greg is a character that almost everyone - children and adults - can relate to in one way or another.
The cast is solid. As Greg, Zachary Gordon is the most impressive as he portrays the protagonist with a combination of selfishness, (attempted) swagger, confusion and the determined spirit of any real-life kid his age. Despite his occasionally questionable actions, Greg is immediately likable.
The movie has several flaws, but few of them are glaring. At approximately two hours, it feels lengthy like a stretched out TV sitcom and some scenes could easily have been shortened or simply cut out altogether. Take, for instance, the Halloween sequence, which involves Greg and Rowley running into a trio of troublemaking teens and contains a lengthy chase/fight sequence. A related subplot concerning a supposedly haunted forest is mildly entertaining but, in the end, serves no purpose to the characters or overall story. Apparently, the film-makers took scenes from numerous books in Kinsey's series, which gives the movie a slightly disjointed flow; it might have been better if they stuck with the first book. Besides, if they do turn this into a franchise as some have speculated, they would have more material for future installments.
I walked out of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid feeling not ecstatic but satisfied and entertained. There were plenty of laughs and the material rarely - if ever - felt dumbed down so much that older people can't enjoy it; in fact, there is a fair share of moments that might resonate more with nostalgic adults than with kids. Although more amusing than hilarious, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid is an admirable effort to showcase the trials and tribulations of a typical child struggling to grow up.
Unlike most movies about school nowadays, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid does not involve high schoolers, but instead it takes a look at the hazardous, chaotic first year of middle school, where kids like Greg Huxley, our protagonist, who "haven't hit their growth spurt yet are put with gorillas who need to shave twice a day." This makes the movie somewhat refreshing as it does not focus on crushes and cliques but on friendship and the human desire to conform. Having gone through middle school in a private school, I cannot say I identify with all that Greg and co. go through, but I did empathize with his need to find his place as an individual and his drive to be accepted by others. Wimpy Kid has a sense of sincerity that most school-related movies lack. Unlike most school movies where the so-called "loser" main character is actually surrounded by dozens of friends, Greg is truly a loner, spending his days with his equally uncool best friend, Rowley, and trying not to get beat up or laughed at by his fellow classmates. Greg is a character that almost everyone - children and adults - can relate to in one way or another.
The cast is solid. As Greg, Zachary Gordon is the most impressive as he portrays the protagonist with a combination of selfishness, (attempted) swagger, confusion and the determined spirit of any real-life kid his age. Despite his occasionally questionable actions, Greg is immediately likable.
The movie has several flaws, but few of them are glaring. At approximately two hours, it feels lengthy like a stretched out TV sitcom and some scenes could easily have been shortened or simply cut out altogether. Take, for instance, the Halloween sequence, which involves Greg and Rowley running into a trio of troublemaking teens and contains a lengthy chase/fight sequence. A related subplot concerning a supposedly haunted forest is mildly entertaining but, in the end, serves no purpose to the characters or overall story. Apparently, the film-makers took scenes from numerous books in Kinsey's series, which gives the movie a slightly disjointed flow; it might have been better if they stuck with the first book. Besides, if they do turn this into a franchise as some have speculated, they would have more material for future installments.
I walked out of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid feeling not ecstatic but satisfied and entertained. There were plenty of laughs and the material rarely - if ever - felt dumbed down so much that older people can't enjoy it; in fact, there is a fair share of moments that might resonate more with nostalgic adults than with kids. Although more amusing than hilarious, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid is an admirable effort to showcase the trials and tribulations of a typical child struggling to grow up.