'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' review (3/5) A stroll through memory lane of the perils of middle school life.

Middle school is always a tricky stage in a person’s life.  You are moving away from childhood into the teenage years.  Puberty rears its ugly head during this time.  The quest to be popular intensifies as you are going through these changes.  “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” follows Greg (Zachary Gordon) as he enters this pivotal period.

The movie is based on the first book of an illustrated novel series of the same title by Jeff Kinney.  Kinney used stick figures for his illustrations.  Director Thor Freudenthal wisely put in some animation in combination with the live action scenes.  Freudenthal had some experience in that field with his earlier work and it shows.  The animation did not seem intrusive or out of place with the rest of the movie.

Greg has a more socially awkward best friend named Rowley (Robert Capron).  Rowley is one of these kids that is naturally happy, but lacks the social graces to fit in completely.  Greg is more aware of how to be cool and tries to instruct Rowley on these ways.  There is a good scene as they enter this new world how kids can change quite a bit over the summer break.  I seem to remember those days when guys would grow a foot or girls would get contact lenses for the first time.  It can be startling to witness.

Greg has obstacles that are holding him back.  His older brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) mercilessly teases and torments him.  His mother (Rachael Harris) and father (Steve Zahn) seem unaware that this is going on.  His mother always sees Greg retaliate for something Rodrick did and she punishes Greg.  Many people will certainly relate to that.  

His mother does do a good thing by encouraging Greg to write in his journal every day.  His imagination comes to life on screen through the clever animation.  One of the funnier gags is when Greg imagines how popular he is in a scale from 1-200.  At first he thinks he is up there at 19, but his standing in his mind tumbles after every embarrassing thing that befalls him.

The pressure that Greg puts on himself to break through and become popular at school is intense.  At times the movie does make Greg unlikable for how he treats Rowley, but you have to remember that Greg is learning about himself.  He hasn’t quite grasped the concept of integrity just yet.  Some people unfortunately never do.

The movie really takes off when it goes into the rituals of middle school life.  Greg is horrified in physical education when he has to be one of the skins, while Rowley brushes it off.  There is also a tale of a rotten piece of cheese that whoever touches it is cursed until they pass it off to someone else.  It sets up a nice scene in the end that brings everything together.

At the school, Greg has to tangle with his old nemesis Patti (Laine MacNeil).  Greg made fun of her several years ago and she has taken out her vengeance on him ever since.  Greg and Rawley also meet Angie (Chloe Moretz), an inspiring reporter on the school newspaper.  A headline involving a cheerleader got a real chuckle out of me.  It will be interesting to see how these relationships develop if there is sequel to this.  

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is a stroll through memory lane of the perils of middle school life.  It generates some laughs and delivers a cool message in the end.

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Running Time: 120
M.P.A.A. Rating: PG