Rated: PG
Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min.
Cast:
- Zachary Gordon
- Devon Bostick
- Rachael Harris
- Robert Capron
- Steve Zahn
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Review - "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules"
Reviewer: Cori Vella
Rating:
I'll be the first to admit that the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie is one of my favorites. Hear that, world? I'm 25 years old, and a kid's movie based on a middle-grade book series is on my Top 10 list. Why? Because it's funny, it's smart, and it's the most realistic portrayal of middle school that I've seen in my life.
The second installment of the series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, proves to be just as funny and smart as the first. We are reacquainted with the same characters from the last movie: our protagonist, Greg, is just starting 7th grade. He is still being tormented by brothers Rodrick and Manny, still hanging out with BFF Rowley, and still trying to avoid associating with Fregley, the class weirdo, as much as possible. In the opening, we follow Greg and the rest of the Heffley family to a local skating rink for a "welcome back, 7th graders!" social. While at the rink, Greg sees Holly Hills, the gorgeous new girl, and decides to make a move. This is, of course, foiled by older brother Rodrick.
The first movie was more episodic in nature — a lot of funny vignettes loosely strung together. Rodrick Rules has a more focused storyline, emphasizing the ups and downs of Greg's relationship with Rodrick. After Greg saves Rodrick's butt from getting grounded for life, Rodrick decides to let Greg in on the secret of living an easy life.
Except Greg didn't get rid of all the evidence of the huge party Rodrick threw in his parents' absence, and now they're both in trouble, big-time. Rodrick is barred from playing in the town's talent show with his band, which is, of course, the end of the world to a teenage boy dreaming of rock-stardom. Through the rest of the movie, Greg tries to earn back Rodrick's respect, but mostly, his love.
Rodrick Rules isn't a standard, half-rate sequel. It doesn't reuse the same tired jokes, but it also doesn't disregard what the audience loved so much about the first one, either, which is usually the problem with sequels. We see real character development from film to film, mostly in Rodrick (played perfectly by Devon Bostick) and Greg (Zachary Gordon). The passing of time and the resulting story feels natural and realistic. The fact of the matter is that kids aren't just "little adults"; they think, feel, and react differently. Diary of a Wimpy Kid really taps into that difference and uses it to an extreme advantage over other movies aimed at children. Every bit of it rings true, makes me think, "Oh yes, that's EXACTLY what it was like in middle school."
Verisimilitude and authenticity and other adult-analysis things aside, it was ridiculously funny. I walked out of the theatre with tears streaming down my eyes and a bellyache from laughing too hard. And it wasn't funny in that cheap, gross-out, fart-and-poop kind of way (well, there was some of that, of course, but hey, it's middle school), the humor was genuinely intelligent. One of the first things I said once the credits began rolling was, "I can't wait to see this movie again."
Three days later, I still feel the same way.
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