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Friday, March 19, 2010

MOVIE REVIEW
Diary Of A Wimpy Kid
Diagramming Your (Cheesy) Self-Esteem


Robert Capron (left), Zachary Gordon and Chloe Grace Moretz in "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid", which opened today. 
Fox

By Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        Follow popcornreel on Twitter FOLLOW 
Friday, March 19, 2010

Thor Freudenthal brings Jeff Kinney's illustrated book Diary Of A Wimpy Kid to the big screen with mostly mixed results.  On the one hand, the film has occasional cutesy appeal for kids.  On the other, "Wimpy Kid" will be a major punk-out for many adults. 

Zachary Gordon plays Greg Heffley, just starting at Westmore Middle School, and Robert Capron is Rowley Jefferson, also trying to find his bearings at Westmore.  The two are peas in a pod, but inevitably their brotherhood will face tests from some of the school's disagreeable kids. 

Although there's some scatological material, the film mostly avoids it to maintain a shaky PG rating.  The film is also a little longer than it needs to be, if only to draw out the larger-than-life pains of being occasionally humiliated before a character's less-than-supportive classmates.

Four screenwriters combine to write this film, which is tailor-made for an ABC television "After School Special".  Much of the film is populated with the types of kids that you probably endured or exalted when you were in middle school (or law school, for that matter.)  Parts of "Wimpy Kid" are funny, but even if you haven't read Mr. Kinney's book, the film is a mostly predictable escalation of the anxieties of trying to find one's voice amidst a sea of sharks, barracudas and goldfish.

Overall, many of the actors readily preen and smile for the camera but add little to the overall scheme of Mr. Freudenthal's film.  The kids they play aren't all brats or menaces, but they don't entirely lack an ability to annoy, either.

The adults in the room are played by Steve Zahn and Rachael Harris, as Greg's parents.  They do what they have to, but they don't have to do much.  The kids are definitely driving this bus.


With: Chloë Grace Moretz, Devon Bostick, Grayson Russell, Laine MacNeil, Karan Brar, Alex Ferris, Andrew McNee, Belita Moreno, Rob LaBelle.

"Diary Of A Wimpy Kid" is rated PG for some rude humor and language.  The film's duration is one hour and 58 minutes. 
 


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Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar here.

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