Review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) by Colin E — 13 Feb 2015

The problem with this movie lies in its transition from book to film. There's no denying, book and film, that Greg Heffley is a manipulative, self-absorbed 11-13 year old throughout the series.

The difference between the book and the film is that the book makes Greg a likeable character, whereas the movie does not. I think the film is a very accurate adaption of the book, but it falls flat not because of the way it's transitioned, but because of the fact that it is an adaption of an anecdote.

Greg does many things that would be considered selfish and manipulative. The book, however, uses Greg's personal accounts of the story, as well as his comical drawings, to fully flesh out and explain Greg's reasoning behind his decisions. His motivations and reasonings are very resonant with that of actual middle school students (panicking over small things, being self-absorbed, and the idea that Greg will be famous someday, exempting him from doing certain tasks), which makes him more relatable as a protagonist, and his actions are more forgivable. The humor for children comes from "Wow, I can see myself doing that" and for adults comes from "I would have done the same thing when I was his age if I could get away with it".

The film does not, however, elaborate on this motivations or thought processes that are going through Greg's mind, at least not deeply enough for us to find humor in his chosen solutions for his problems. Instead, he comes off as just a jerk.

This is a very accurate adaption of a children's book, but without the deeper look into Greg's psyche that the book provides, it's just not very funny. You definitely have to read the book first before watching in order to "get" any of the humor.