“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules”
Rated PG; 1 hour 36 minutes; Zachary Gordon; Rachael Harris
With approximately 50 million copies of his “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” graphic novels in circulation, author Jeff Kinney has a loyal following of readers who’ve outgrown Dr. Seuss, but aren’t ready for Harry Potter.
The arrival of the second live-action “Wimpy Kid” movie will give them and indulgent parents something to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It lacks much of the mischievous, subversive appeal of last year’s debut film and plays directly to the middle school set.
The antihero of the series is Greg Heffley, a put-upon 12-year-old who sees his life as an unending series of humiliations. He’s a bit of a whiner and a jerk, but always shows his human side, and we relate and forgive him because we’ve all been there.
The original film caught the self-pitying humor of the situation as Greg put on pretentious airs, dumped his oafish, loyal best friend Rowley to impress the cool kids and cowered before older brother Rodrick, a heavy-metal lunkhead. “Rodrick Rules” softens Greg’s character considerably. He’s no longer an endearing, sarcastic jerk, just endearing. His cockiness gone, he’s just a passive, reactive pipsqueak — the kiss of death for a protagonist.
Parents won’t find much to raise a smile here, but the point of attending such movies is seeing your children crack up. Most likely they will, especially if they favor poop gags, which abound.
Most of the original actors return, with Zachary Gordon twinkling a little too hard as Greg, Devon Bostick as his troublesome brother, and Robert Capron as the ever-cheerful Rowley. Rachel Harris (“The Hangover”) and Steve Zahn are intentionally corny as Mom and Dad.
The rest of the cast look and act as if they’ve been held back and made to repeat a grade.
