Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven

Opening this Friday from director Thor Freudenthal and 20^th Century Fox Feature Films is a coming of age tale with “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”.

This film tells the story of Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon), a young man about ready to enter his junior high school years. His mother Susan (Rachel Harris) gives him a diary to write down his journey into young manhood.

Giving Greg advice is his rock band brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick), of course his advice is to basically lay low and remain unseen. Along for the ride is his best friend Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron), also not starting off on a good note his first year.

From wrestling to hallway monitor, Greg tries to find a niche for himself. Of course Rowley doesn’t make it easy with his innocent antics. It doesn’t take long to become the object of some chasing by local teens as the hide n’ seek begins.

It’s all about growing up, even when it seems impossible.

FINAL WORD: Heffley as Greg doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing. The character seems to be going through motions and reading lines but no feeling to them. I think I would have preferred to see the movie with the stick figures.

Bostick is mildly entertaining as Rodrick; this is possibly perhaps due to my own older brother and his torturing when I was that age. Capron was just too innocent and too unsuspecting and way overdone in all areas. It was almost irritating to watch.

There was no time to latch on to any of the characters or even care about what they may or may not be going through. Okay, so the molded-cheese-on-the-playground story had me going for a second but that’s it!

Personally I thought the “wimpy” kid was not only self-absorbed but, in some ways, cruel to his friends and those around him. I don’t see how that is an attraction for any film that is suppose to be a comedy for kids.

Other cast members include: Steve Zahn as dad Frank, Chloe Moretz as Angie Steadman, Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta, Grayson Russell as Fregley, Alex Ferris as Colin, Andrew McNee as Coach Malone, and Laine MacNeil as Patty Ferrell.

From the New York Times best selling book by Jeff Kinney. So far there are four in the series “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” with “Rodrick Rules”, “The Last Straw” and “Dog Days” with another book later in the year.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” two and a half tubs of popcorn out of five. I think it would have made a nice television film or something for the Disney Channel or even Nickelodeon, but not for the big screen.

In the end…it’s not a diary, it’s a movie – but not a very good one.