Review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) by Mish R — 07 Jun 2011

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" is something very charming, adorable, and cutesy in that way we crave every now and then. Some things can and will surprise you, because I was. The characters are very well acted, and not once do we ever not buy into the fact that they are kids, although I'll admit I was a bit confused as to what grade the filmmakers were making the characters out to be in. The humor was done very well, and realistically. I like how it doesn't focus on one type of humor that only appeals to little kids, because the humor can appeal to adults, who have an open mind at least. I also like how it has a real humor in which we can relate to. I think it brings a better level to things like sibling rivalry (which they actually succeed in making fun and enjoyable), and breaking the fourth wall elements. Besides it's very cutesy humor, and isn't really the kind where you spend 7 seconds laughing hard at, but you do appreciate it. The acting from the 2 kids was surprisingly good, and you really have a liking towards these quirky and even maybe overly stressed characters. You still have fun with them and the film.

The downside of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" is how some things felt boring in the sense of it was pointless. For example the whole ongoing Halloween ordeal with the group of thugs I hated, because they drag it out, and for the main part is something totally pointless. The main character Graig gets pretty annoying towards the finale, and it becomes a big cliché. So much so that I would have left the theater really not feeling as though I missed out on much. Just having start out so well, and then too have it descend into something predictable, like we all hope to avoid, it becomes annoying, and even boring. Also how it was so over the top with unimportant details (the Halloween thing, even the mother's speech about women's rights), were just the type thing where you sit back and wish they'd hurry it up. It also feels as though around the middle and last half they've run out of ideas, and are just giving us these random and annoying subjects (the play, the safety patrol, etc.).

Overall "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" isn't bad at all, sure it has it's misses, but it's something that is fresher compared to other films of it's tone. Does it appeal to all audiences, at some points, yes it does. All in all in could have been better, but they could have done a lot worse, definitely has made me curious about the books.