Film Review: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Stars: 4 and one half out of 5

All I can say is I am a HUGE fan of the books, and I have read all of them several times over.  So when I heard that they were making a movie of it, I did a dance of joy.  But then I saw the trailer, and thought "Here we go again, it's just gonna be some dumb kids movie that has nothing to do with the book and is saturated with toilet humor."  When I went to see the film, I was crossing my fingers hoping that wasn't the case.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  The movie stayed very true to the book, using many of the same jokes and gags as the novel by Jeff Kinney.  And even though there was some toilet humor, most of it was very funny. (I say most of it, mind you. The few unnecessary potty jokes are the only thing keeping this film from 5 stars.)  It was very funny, I think I may have annoyed the person sitting next to me in the theater by laughing so hard.  The acting was surprisingly good, especially the main characters Greg and Rowley.  But the thing I liked most was the style of cinematography used in this movie.  The director Thor Freudenthal seamlessly blends live action, animation, and music to create a very well done film.  In conclusion, this is a great film.  Just one warning, if you have never been to middle school, you WILL NOT like this movie.