Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

When Jeff Kinney's series of children's books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, hit the big screen exactly one year ago, I was not one of the film's supporters. There were some funny moments, but I found the main character, a 12-year-old boy named Greg Heffley, an insufferable and unsympathetic brat who was self-centered and abusive to his goofy, but kind-hearted best friend, Rowley. (I remember the scene where Greg causes an accident that leads to Rowley breaking his arm, and all he can think about is himself and being popular at school, not once apologizing for the incident until almost the end of the movie.)

Regardless, the film became a minor hit, and here we are one year later with a rushed-out cash grab sequel, Rodrick Rules. Young Greg (once again played by Zachary Gordon) is a year older, but hasn't learned much. He's still obsessed with popularity, this time by trying to date the most beautiful girl in school, Holly Hills (Peyton List). He also still enjoys humiliating Rowley (Robert Capron), forcing him to do embarrassing and painful stunts so that they can become Internet celebrities on Youtube. After two movies, I can't help but think Rowley should seek out a new best friend. So yeah, Greg's still a jerk, but at least in this movie, we kind of see where we gets it from. As the title suggests, Greg's older brother, Rodrick (Devon Bostick), takes center stage this time. He's equally self centered, caring only about himself and his garage band "Loded Diper". Outside of that, he can usually be seen extorting money from his parents, or abusing Greg, such as locking him in the basement when their parents go away for the weekend.

Meanwhile, their mom (Rachael Harris, channeling Tina Fey) has recently started working for the local newspaper as a family advice columnist. She senses the hostility between Greg and Rodrick, and starts encouraging them to be nicer to each other, and spend more time together. Naturally, this does not work out well at first, but when Greg covers up for Rodrick and gets him out of potential trouble with a lie, the two become fast friends, and Rodrick starts passing on his "knowledge" onto his little brother, such as "always lower people's expectations, so that others won't expect much from you". (I got the sense that the filmmakers took this lesson to heart.) The plot with the two brothers bonding is supposed to be the central focus of the movie, I suppose, but the film's structure is so aimless and meandering, it's hard to be sure.

Rodrick Rules fills itself with a lot of pointless subplots and characters who are only there because they were in the last movie. All of the original cast members have returned, except for child actor Chloe Moretz (from Kick Ass), who obviously has better offers now. Very few of them should have bothered returning at all. The other kids in Greg's class (who managed to give the first film a mild offbeat charm) are pushed into the background this time around, as the plot is pretty much focused on Greg's problems at home. The movie makes a big deal about Greg and his friends entering the seventh grade early on, only to not do anything with it. There's a subplot concerning Greg's Indian friend Chirag (Karan Brar) having to deal with a cruel prank, and some gross-out humor from the class weirdo, Fregley (Grayson Russell), but none of these go anywhere memorable, nor do they build to anything worthwhile.

I imagine the disjointed nature of the stories works better in the books, which are set up like a kid's diary, complete with stick figure cartoons. But the screenplay by returning writers Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah can't make the format work on film. The movie feels like a series of skits and unfunny black-out gags, instead of a coherent narrative. It doesn't focus on anything long enough, nor does it give anyone enough to do. We're just watching these kids do terrible things to each other, and have terrible things happen to them over and over. It gives the film an unnecessary mean streak that I found unsettling. Director David Bowers (2009's Astro Boy) also shoots the film in a very uninteresting way, almost like he's filming a sitcom for TV. The cheap look probably has a lot to do with the rushed schedule the sequel was under.

To those of you who liked the original, take heart - Rodrick Rules is no better or worse than the one you saw last year. It's more of the same. If that's what you want, go and enjoy. I didn't much like this movie, but then, I didn't much like the last one. I just can't get over the mean streak these movies seem to have. When the inevitable third film shows up a year from now, I can only hope a little more effort is put into it.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

0 comments