SYNOPSIS:
The hysterically
funny, best-selling book comes to life in this smash-hit family
comedy! Greg Heffley is headed for big things, but first he
has to survive the scariest, most humiliating experience of
any kid's life - middle school! That won't be easy, considering
he's surrounded by hairy-freckled morons, wedgie-loving bullies
and a moldy slice of cheese with nuclear cooties.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Middle school in the U.S. would mean the equivalent of Primary 5 to Secondary 2 years for our local students, and if we haven’t always been as attentive or aware to their emotional needs as we should be, then perhaps one could start to understand them with “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”. Based on the bestselling books by Jeff Kinney, this is the story of that in-between childhood and adolescence period for one middle-school kid in the U.S., Greg (Zachary Gordon), whose single obsessive goal seems to be to achieve status and popularity.
Even in his own family, Greg was always the middle kid. His toddler brother Manny gets most of his parents’ attention, while his older brother Rodrick seems to be enjoying his teenage freedom. And here we have Greg, an timid and rather self-absorbed kid who realises that his best pal and perennial dork Rowley (Robert Capron) may actually be an impediment to his climb up the social ladder in school. Unfolding over the course of one year, we see Greg’s attempts at taking up school responsibilities and other kinds of business to ingratiate with the cute girls.
It’s a bit of a surprise that this PG-friendly kid flick actually has an anti-hero as a protagonist, especially since Greg turns out to be quite the jerk- repeatedly abusing Rowley, lying, blithely abandoning a group of small children and coming up with all sorts of dishonest ploys in the name of fame. Still, kudos to Zachary Gordon for never letting Greg turn out to be less than endearing despite his flaws- in fact earning the audience’s empathy for his insecurities with some genuine, heartfelt acting.
Next to Gordon’s flawed character, Robert Capron actually turns out quite the scene-stealer. The physically rotund actor has a natural and guileless appeal that- coupled with his character’s likeability- ends up being just as, if not more, likeable than Gordon. Of course, that’s also a consequence of “Hotel for Dogs” director Thor Freudenthal’s tendency to amplify all of Greg’s episodes of petty jealousies and raging anxieties which make for pretty fun viewing at the start (especially since you wouldn’t consider someone Greg’s age to be so preoccupied with social status) but gets a tad exasperating towards the end.
To balance the mean-spiritedness, Freudenthal throws in a fair amount of gross-out toilet humour for good measure. Naturally, the kind of humour is inevitable for a kids-picture like this, and Freudenthal is at least judicious in his use of it. He also has a good sense of pacing, which goes a long way in ensuring that certain gags don’t overstay their welcome, in particular those that do work- like a wrestling sequence in which Greg tries with disastrous results to prove his physical strength.
Like Kinney’s comic, there is a silly-sweet appeal to the movie that manages to be never less than endearing, even though certain encounters of its lead character are decidedly less so. The use of animated transitional segments also proves a nice touch as a throwback to its source material. And even if it doesn’t offer much insights into the mind of a middle-school kid, at least it shows that we ought to pay attention a little more to their need for attention, encouragement and recognition- no matter how young they may seem to be.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
The highlight among the extras is the Feature Commentary with director Thor Freudenthal and co-writer Gabriel Sachs, where both talk about the challenges of adapting Jeff Kinney’s book for the big screen. Freudenthal does most of the talking, but he’s an amiable presence to listen to.
“Deleted Diary Pages” features promotional material and deleted scenes, but there’s nothing much substantial to be found. Finally, there’s also a theatrical trailer included.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is heavily front-loaded as can be expected of a comedy film, and the rear speakers only come alive with the film’s soundtrack. Visuals are crisp and vibrant, retaining the film’s bright and vivacious look.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
Posted
on 13 February 2011
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