Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) and Rodrick Rules.

As the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney proved to be popular, so did its 2010 film adaptation, leading to an annual sequel based on the second book, Rodrick Rules. Although I have not actually read any of the books, the first film turned out to be a lot better than I had expected after I watched it to see what the fuss was about, which got me interested in seeing the sequel. After having done so, I feel Rodrick Rules improves on the original enough to make it possibly the best of the original trilogy.

As he prepares to enter the seventh grade, Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) develops a crush on the new girl, Holly Hills (Peyton List), at a rollerskating party, however his brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) sets him up for embarrassment. Despite their mother’s (Rachael Harris) best efforts to make them get along, Greg’s animosity towards his brother’s bullying escalates into a fight at a church, leading them to be banned from a family outing. While trying to cover up throwing a party behind their parents’ backs- they replace a bathroom door to cover up graffiti, only to realize they overlooked the new door’s lack of a lock, with Rodrick playing nice with Greg for as long they dodge the issue.

Rodrick (Devon Bostick, left) and Greg (Zachary Gordon, right) are
punished for fighting at a church service.

The plot feels like a natural extension of the first film’s, and also more focused, further exploring the relationship between Greg and Rodrick while providing some additional character depth for the latter. One of the core themes of the story, that brothers fight but still make up in the end, is portrayed more realistically, at least from my own personal experience. The friendship between Greg and Rowley (Robert Capron) is also still believable, even if it doesn’t get as much focus here.

Although the movie does effectively bridge the gap with the first one at the beginning, including explaining how Greg managed to rid himself of the Cheese Touch, and Holly’s introduction does work well for the plot, one has to wonder what happened to Angie from the first film since her absence isn’t even acknowledged. While I do understand Angie was an original character invented for the film continuity, a quick throwaway line might have helped in this regard.

Similarly to the first movie, the original art style from the books is used in a unique way to supplement the story. The primary characters, mainly the Heffley family, are introduced as 2D representations of their book counterparts before they are quickly erased to reveal their live-action versions, creating a connection for people who have read the books and also effectively establishing who’s who during fluidly animated cutaways.

Animated cutaways help to effectively visualize some of Greg's thoughts.

One of the strong points is the acting, with the main cast all reprising their roles from the first film. Though Rodrick is an underachieving jerk of an older brother, he also has moments where he genuinely bonds with Greg and shows him the ways of his lazier lifestyle, with Devon Bostick striking a perfect balance of Rodrick’s personality that still makes the character ultimately likeable. All of the child actors continue to put in great performances as well, with Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron having great chemistry with each other to make Greg and Rowley believable as friends.

The movie also has an effective use of licensed music with a great selection of songs, though some, such as “TiK ToK” by Kesha (as Ke$ha), are very reflective of the time in which the movie was made. Although the original music doesn’t stand out too much outside of sounding familiar with the previous film, it can be funny hearing what the music of Rodrick’s band Löded Diper sounds like.

Whether you’ve read the book or have only seen the original live-action Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, Rodrick Rules is a must-see, thanks to its more cohesive narrative and its contributions to the characters of Greg and Rodrick.