Because you apparently asked for it. Because there are so many unanswered questions left over from the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Because there are another three books in the popular children's series, and last time anyone checked, Hollywood wasn't letting a surprise semi-hit go unexploited. Those are the reasons why we have this sequel, with a new director (Astro-Boy's David Bowers), the same screenwriters, and a returning cast which recognizes a regular studio paycheck when they cash one. Innocuous and cartoonish, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies pretend to offer insights into growing up and facing adolescence. What they really offer is slight slapstick, comic cliches, and enough sullen after-school special messages to make even the most misguided child straighten up and fly right. This latest installment is no different.
When last we left our hapless hero Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon), he had somehow survived his first year of middle school, the endless slights of his big brother Roderick (Devon Bostick) and the spoiled rotten ways of younger sibling Manny. While his parents (Rachel Harris and Steve Zahn) aren't pleased with the constant infighting between their kids, Mom believes she has a solution -- bribery. Indeed, Greg and Roderick will get "Mommy Bucks" every time they "play nice" and spend quality time with each other. Of course, the rebellious high school teen wants nothing to do with this, and turns the experiment in brotherhood into a nightmare. In the meantime, Greg is still having a hard time with his peers, including geeky best friend Rowley (Robert Capron), class rivals Chirag (Karan Brar) and Patty (Laine MacNeil), and uber-dork Fregley (Grayson Russell). To make matters worse, he also has a crush on the new girl (Peyton List), who barely knows he's alive.
Though they've aged very little since they starred in the first film in this fledgling franchise, stars Gordon and Capron are one of the few reasons to endure this otherwise cutesy take on pre-pubescence. Both have an ease in front of the camera that makes the forced histrionics of the rest of the cast a chore to experience. Indeed, a great percentage of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules feels rushed and half-realized, as if the makers let the original's $167 million success go straight to their hurried heads. Since they were already introduced the first time around, Patty and Fregley are relegated to elaborate sight gags, while only Chirag's "invisibility" subplot sustains any supporting player interest. Bowers even makes the mistake of downplaying Wimpy 1's clever combining of cartoon imagery from the books with real life action.
Instead, we get poop jokes (in church, of all places), fat kids accidentally smashing their butts into the face of their friend, and far too much of Roderick's ridiculous rock band (Löded Diper? Now there's a joke name that doesn't get old). There are moments of fun here and there -- a weekend trip to a nursing home has a nice balance of pathos and pratfalls, and there's a clever horror spoof called "The Foot" that makes an appearance -- but for the most part, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 is just a rehash of redundancies repeated ad nauseum in the world of clueless kid vid. Instead of challenging the underage viewer, the movies believe that everything should be shallow, silly, and easy to digest. Bingo!
Undoubtedly there will be a Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3. In Tinseltown, popularity breeds productions and Jeff Kinney's books continue to fly off the shelves -- and one should never underestimate a little boy's love of all things sophomoric and scatological. Though the title suggests a more "mature" approach, this movie remains stuck in juvenilia.
When last we left our hapless hero Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon), he had somehow survived his first year of middle school, the endless slights of his big brother Roderick (Devon Bostick) and the spoiled rotten ways of younger sibling Manny. While his parents (Rachel Harris and Steve Zahn) aren't pleased with the constant infighting between their kids, Mom believes she has a solution -- bribery. Indeed, Greg and Roderick will get "Mommy Bucks" every time they "play nice" and spend quality time with each other. Of course, the rebellious high school teen wants nothing to do with this, and turns the experiment in brotherhood into a nightmare. In the meantime, Greg is still having a hard time with his peers, including geeky best friend Rowley (Robert Capron), class rivals Chirag (Karan Brar) and Patty (Laine MacNeil), and uber-dork Fregley (Grayson Russell). To make matters worse, he also has a crush on the new girl (Peyton List), who barely knows he's alive.
Though they've aged very little since they starred in the first film in this fledgling franchise, stars Gordon and Capron are one of the few reasons to endure this otherwise cutesy take on pre-pubescence. Both have an ease in front of the camera that makes the forced histrionics of the rest of the cast a chore to experience. Indeed, a great percentage of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules feels rushed and half-realized, as if the makers let the original's $167 million success go straight to their hurried heads. Since they were already introduced the first time around, Patty and Fregley are relegated to elaborate sight gags, while only Chirag's "invisibility" subplot sustains any supporting player interest. Bowers even makes the mistake of downplaying Wimpy 1's clever combining of cartoon imagery from the books with real life action.
Instead, we get poop jokes (in church, of all places), fat kids accidentally smashing their butts into the face of their friend, and far too much of Roderick's ridiculous rock band (Löded Diper? Now there's a joke name that doesn't get old). There are moments of fun here and there -- a weekend trip to a nursing home has a nice balance of pathos and pratfalls, and there's a clever horror spoof called "The Foot" that makes an appearance -- but for the most part, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 is just a rehash of redundancies repeated ad nauseum in the world of clueless kid vid. Instead of challenging the underage viewer, the movies believe that everything should be shallow, silly, and easy to digest. Bingo!
Undoubtedly there will be a Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3. In Tinseltown, popularity breeds productions and Jeff Kinney's books continue to fly off the shelves -- and one should never underestimate a little boy's love of all things sophomoric and scatological. Though the title suggests a more "mature" approach, this movie remains stuck in juvenilia.
