Review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) by Chris S — 18 Jun 2011

It's always kind of awkward going into a movie you know is based on a book, but you never read the source material since it never interested you. Now there's a movie and a buzz beginning to pick up, but you still don't see the attraction. So if you're forced to see the movie and don't like it, is it because you convinced yourself you weren't going to like it going in or is it because it's just not a good movie? Well an open mind is a good thing, but sometimes things just aren't your cup of tea and you don't like a movie because it's either not good or it's aimed at an audience that you don't fit into. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is shelved somewhere between not being good and being aimed at a younger audience.

The movie begins with an incredibly predictable opening and it kind of sets the tone for the rest of the movie while also giving you an idea of the hell you're about to sit through. In a nutshell, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is about middle school pains; the ups and downs of trying to blend in and be popular while dealing with the outrageous transition from elementary to middle school. As an adult, middle school isn't exactly something you think about regularly. High school? Yes. Middle school? Not so much. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is able to make you feel a little nostalgic about middle school and triggers memories similar to what Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) is trying to accomplish. School is obviously going to be the most important part of your life, right? After school activities, being popular, and attaining that class favorite moniker in the yearbook is the only way you'll ever get anywhere in this world.

But a slight wave of nostalgia isn't really enough to make this movie worthwhile. It's incredibly juvenile, which is to be expected. But the humor will more than likely come off as some of the most dense material you've heard in quite some time; sibling rivalry, getting peed on, boogers, hairy moles, and being creeped out by unusual individuals among other things. It really just feels very immature like trying to go back and watch "Sesame Street" in your thirties even though you don't have any kids.

I mostly feel like the movie would've been stronger if it was entirely animated. While live-action gives the movie a more realistic and relatable quality, the subject matter felt better suited for animation and the short bits that were animated were easily some of the highlights. Obnoxious children are one of my pet peeves. That is one thing nobody should have to be forced to succumb to ever and this movie is just filled with nothing but that. Rowley (Robert Capron) wasn't, but he was also twice as immature as everyone else around him. Meanwhile Chloe Moretz was a welcome addition to the cast and seemed to be somewhat normal despite being an outcast, but her character was totally pointless. She works for the school newspaper and hangs out underneath bleachers. That's all she does. And all the while we're stuck listening to kids being called "turd burglars" and have to learn about the "cheese touch." Greg complains several times about the morons around him and it's nothing more than the pot calling the kettle black as Diary of a Wimpy Kid is fairly moronic the majority of the time.

The entire first half of the wrestling scene seemed to be ripped straight from the W.T.F. episode of "South Park." They complained about the uniforms, were inspired by "fake" wrestling, and the coach even made a speech about REAL wrestling being better than "fake" wrestling. In a movie like this, that probably isn't a good thing having a PG-rated movie being compared to a TV-MA show since there's essentially no way one can live up to the other. It was kind of sad more than anything.

The main thing that plagues Diary of a Wimpy Kid is that there doesn't really seem to be any sort of clear message the movie can really offer its audience. Should I ignore advice from my older brother? Not join any after school activity ever? Stand up for my friends? Do the right thing? Dance with my mom? Eat moldy cheese off the ground? Be proud of who I am and not change to fit in? All of these are glossed over, but never really fully developed.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a cluttered family film. It feels like it's dumbed-down to appeal to a younger audience while the humor and storyline is ridiculously childlike and leaves no room for older individuals to jump on board. Its shades of nostalgia and small additions of animation are somewhat charming, but are incapable of saving the film from mostly being an exhaustive effort at entertainment.