Review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) by Henry P — 17 Jan 2015

The best-seller about normal "wimpy kid" Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) comes to life in this fast-moving, middle-schooler comedy. To clarify, I am 18, but I grew up reading the books, and this is my first time since the original 2010 release watching this.

After nearly five years, the story of Greg Heffley's sixth-grade experience, while juvenile for the most part, is still very enjoyable: The plot moves swiftly, using large time jumps to get from that first day of school we all dreaded growing up, to that last day where we're relieved to get the heck outta there.

This did make it seem a little rushed, especially since the book had several humorous scenarios this film could have benefitted from. The story follows Greg Heffley, his friend Rowley (Robert Capron), and Greg's family, as they try to survive the first year of middle-school, which leads to a few cliches, but we get to care for Greg and Rowley's friendship when a wedge is jammed between them.

The picture is great, but despite this being a family-comedy, there are somehow one-or-two cheap-looking CGI shots, but aside from getting used to the live-action format after having seen these characters in Greg's drawings in the books (And in the well-done animations that managed to squeeze in the book scenes that did not get into the live-action parts) the picture is good, as it should be, with albeit the CGI shot being there for a good reason.

Theodore Shapiro's score will feel generic to those who have seen several of these kinds of films, but if you're more like the occasional indulger (Like me), then you'll find it adds emotion where it is used, and the studio songs help in certain montages, like when Greg walks down the hallway dressed to be voted best dressed, and then it ends when he sees Rowley wearing the exact same outfit: It ends with Greg's chance of being that class favorite in the yearbook.

When you really look at it, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is another family-comedy, but, it brings a certain level of humanity in Greg and Rowley's friendship, and even adults can find relatability in Greg's endeavours to become most popular, because we all felt our goals are impossible, and seeing him fail reminds us all to just be ourselves, and hope for the best.