Synopsis: A boy chronicles his adventures through middle school.
Release Date: March 19, 2010 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Children and Family, Comedy
Film Review
Production
Do you remember the days of debilitating, nay, paralyzing self-doubt? The torturous days in the gridlocked classrooms of what is more formally known as Junior High school? As our hero Greg astutely remarks, it’s the place where “parents dump their kids so they don’t have to look at them” while they’re going through this awkward stage. As much as you may have hated being in middle school, Director Thor Freudenthal’s children’s film “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” does a great job of putting you right back in the shoes of your sixth grade self. Suddenly we are transported back into a world in which following the social rules and regulations imposed upon you by your fellow classmates become of utmost importance. Our guide is Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon), a precocious sixth grader whose goal is to make it into the yearbook as one of the “class favorites”. In order to reach his goal, he does everything he can to try and be what people want him to be. Ironically, everything he tries gets him bumped further and further down the ranks in popularity. Greg becomes the perfect narrator to guide us through the ups and downs of middle school life precisely because he is not one of the cool kids and has a removed perspective. Zachary Gordon is able to portray the blindly self-confident Greg with just the right amount of cockyness and vulnerability to make you feel for his every success and failure. Greg and his best friend Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron) have great chemistry that the film is essentially built upon. Capron plays the bumbling, good-natured Rowley with just the right amount of spunk and naivete. In this heart-warming film about learning to find your own voice, your spirits will be lifted and you will find yourself turning back into your middle school self: bad hair, braces and all.
Animation
The film is based on a book series by the same name. Within the books, there are hilarious cartoon illustrations that are brought to life in the film. There is a clever weaving between the cartoon versions of the characters and the live action versions, which pay nice homage to the book. One minor issue that surfaced is that some of the cartoon insertions were drawn directly onto the live action characters and this was momentarily jarring.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Thor Freudenthal
- Producer(s): Jackie FilgoJeff FilgoJeff JudahGabe Sachs
- Screenwriter(s): Chloe Moretz (Angie)Steve Zahn (Frank)Rachael Harris (Susan)
- Story: Alex Ferris (Collin)
- Cast: Zachary Gordon (Greg) Wendy Greene BricmontJack N. GreenBrent Thomas
- Editor(s):
- Cinematographer:
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
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- Country Of Origin: USA
