Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)

If you were around in the mid-2000s, there was a chance you had heard of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a series of still-ongoing children’s novels written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. If not that, you may have heard of the series of live-action films based on the books, with the first one, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, released in 2010. I had some awareness of both, though for whatever reason it never really caught my interest. Fast forward to 2021 and Disney+ released a new adaptation of the original book, also titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid, though I noticed more fans of the series compare it unfavorably to the original adaptation. This finally motivated me to try and see what all the fuss was about and although I went in with no expectations about its quality, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of heart in the writing and the honestly great life lesson it can impart on its target audience.

Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) is just starting middle school and worries about his social standing. On the first day, he’s quickly hit with the stark differences from elementary school, as he and his best friend, Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron), have a hard time fitting in. During P.E., they escape from a game of Gladiator and another friend of theirs, Chirag Gupta (Karan Brar), tells them about a moldy piece of cheese on the basketball court that gives anyone who touches it “the Cheese Touch”, rendering anyone who touches it a social outcast unless they pass it on to someone else. Under the bleachers, Greg and Rowley meet Angie Steadman (Chloë Grace Moretz), a seventh-grader who isolates herself to “survive”. She encourages the boys to do the same, but unfortunately, Greg is set on becoming the most popular kid in school, no matter the cost.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid really nails the atmosphere of middle school, or at least the way an older audience may remember it. Even if you didn’t experience everything that happens in the movie, the feelings of isolation and not fitting in are highly relatable, as are the apathetic authority figures and social cliques. I have no real frame of reference for comparing the plot to the original book, but the film’s interpretation does a good job of presenting the multiple events throughout the school year in a digestible form that works for a linear 92-minute film. What feel like multiple disparate plot threads, including the moldy cheese and Greg’s brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) possessing an adult magazine, all come together at the end and feel like they have a real payoff. I’m aware that Angie wasn’t in the original book, but her character also helped tie the different threads together in an organic way and she even calls out Greg for his awful behavior.

Greg (Zachary Gordon, left) and Rowley (Robert Capron)
have an awful first day at school.

Although Greg has his own share of troubles from his family and other students, it’s made clear that a lot of the negative experiences at school come from him trying too hard to fit in, including his increasingly desperate acts born from jealousy over how Rowley, who he perceived as less cool than him, did so without even trying. It’s also clear that Greg isn’t really a good person, as he tries manipulating Rowley at least once and was willing to let him take the fall for one of his mistakes. However, he doesn’t get off scot-free, facing appropriate punishment and scorn, and even learns the valuable lesson that your social standing in middle school doesn’t actually matter as much as you think it does.

Like other adaptations of illustrated works, Diary of a Wimpy Kid could have simply translated all of the drawings to live-action and called it a day. However, this film goes the extra mile and incorporates the art in an innovative way by either animating short representations of what Greg is thinking or animating the artwork on top of the real world to show how Greg sees the world around him. At times, we even see Greg drawing representations of himself and others in Jeff Kinney’s art style. This approach helps the movie stand and enhances the story while taking advantage of the difference in mediums. Some viewers may also think of Scott Pilgrim vs the World, which took the “living comic book” approach a step further, though Diary of a Wimpy Kid actually had a wide theatrical release five months before that film.

The film takes a unique approach to incorporating Jeff Kinney's art style.

Since Diary of a Wimpy Kid is aimed at a younger audience, however, it does still have some juvenile humor that I’m not really a fan of, particularly gags involving bodily functions. To the film’s credit, some of it is used to show how uncomfortable the situation is for Greg or is framed as the reality of being a kid in Greg’s situation. However, that doesn’t stop some scenes, like Greg avoiding a booger, from just coming off as gross for the sake of it, even if it was in the original story.

I also have to give the film credit for the acting. Everyone does at least a decent job in their respective roles and the children actually act like children, which helps with the relatable feeling of middle school life. Due to the proximity of seeing these films, it also felt interesting recognizing Steve Zahn, who plays Greg’s father Frank Heffley, since he also played the father in 8-Bit Christmas (2021) and did a good job here as well. Devon Bostick also does great job at showing just how much of a jerk Rodrick is to Greg.

While not a perfect movie, Diary of a Wimpy Kid has plenty to offer for both its target audience and any adults watching. Between the unique blend of live-action and animation, the relatability and the valuable life lesson, it’s worth watching at least once, if only to see what all the fuss is about.