Review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) by Willy K — 29 May 2011

A great family movie, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" supplies a fun balance of childish gross-out humor and wit and good story-telling.

We're introduced to Greg Heffley (actor Zachary Gordon), who's just starting middle school. In his mind, he's certain that there's a key way to making it to the top of the imaginary social popularity ladder, so he does whatever he deems necessary to reach the top. But his efforts fall flat whenever his attempts at acting cool are accidentally foiled by his best friend, Rowley Jefferson (acted by Robert Capron).

Greg struggles through each day, trying to make the best of what he thinks is the worst time of his life. He's bullied by his older brother, Rodrick (Devon Bostick), and pushed around by the "school bully" Patty Ferrell (Laine MacNeil).

The reason that "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" succeeds is because all the characters are so well drawn, we see a part of ourselves in each of them. Director Thor Freudenthal has made several other kid movies, including "Stuart Little "(1999), "The Haunted Mansion "(2003), and "Hotel for Dogs" (2009).

His experience shows throughout the movie, especially in several very funny scenes involving a moldy piece of cheese. The screenplay, by Jackie Filgo, Jeff Filgo, Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah, is based on the book by Jeff Kinney.

I've yet to read the book but from what I've heard, the movie follows the story closely and remains true to its characters. This is mostly because the actors are astonishingly good for their age.

I met Zachary Gordon, who plays the protagonist, Greg Heffley, when I saw this movie at the Danville film festival, and the kid has lots of zeal on and off camera. He and his co-stars dive into their roles and show the lives of their characters with such precision that I was sucked into the story.

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" is an ideal film for families. All aspects of the movie come together in a modern children's classic that's on the same level as the popular book series.