Diary of a Wimpy Kid

My beautiful and brilliant wife was delighted when I volunteered to take the boys to DIARY OF A WIMPY KID.  She’d read the books along with our oldest son and liked them well enough, but she just couldn’t see how anyone could make a good movie out of the material.

Win and win.  Not only did I score points with my bride of nearly eighteen years, but I laughed all through the movie.  DIARY OF A WIMPY KID hits all the right notes, finds comedy in situations that would be sad or uncomfortable in less capable hands, and turns out to be a good time at the movies for all concerned.

Here’s the deal:  Greg Heffley is about to begin his first year of middle school.  If there’s one thing he knows about middle school, it’s that the experience is a Darwinian struggle for social survival.  Everything revolves around one’s standing on the social ladder, and his job is to do whatever’s going to move him up and avoid whatever’s going to move him down.  Never mind everyone telling him to be himself and find his own way: he’s going to be the top dog, even if he has to overcome the handicap of constantly being surrounded by wimps, nerds, and losers.  And, of course, being a wimpy kid himself.  With a diary.  Even though he expressly told his mom that needed a journal.

The film chronicles his year, and it does so with just the right touch.  The mean older brother (Devon Bostick) seems more goofy than cruel.  The out – of – touch parents (Steve Zahn and Rachael Harris) are out of touch in a way that parents will find amusing.  The wimpy, nerdy, loser friends (Karan Brar, Robert Capron, Grayson Russell) are misfits, but they’re depicted so kindly that we smile in comic sympathy rather than writhe in discomfort.  Greg Heffley (Zachart Gordon) himself – insecure, calculating, meaning well but oh so childish, is both our hero and our audience surrogate.  We know who he is and why he makes his mistakes, and he simultaneously wants to make us laugh, give him a hug, and send him to his room.  And then there’s Angie, wise beyond her years and the only person in school who really, truly Gets It.  Chloe Moretz (who played Hit Girl in KICK-ASS and here steals yet another film) is, assuming she doesn’t fall prey to the joys of chemistry, going to be a huge, huge star.

So I’m a big fan of DIARY OF A WIMPY KID.  It helped me score points with my wife, enjoy some time with my kids, and gave me something to chuckle over even days later.  Much to my very pleasant surprise, this film is a winner.