Review of film: “DIARY OF A WIMPY KID [2]: RODRICK RULES”

2011, 03-31:

Review of film:  “DIARY OF A WIMPY KID [2]: RODRICK RULES”

    This “Diary” could have been left UN-completed with no great “loss”...

This is the 2^nd in the series.  Once again, it concentrates on a “poster boy” for “WIMPY”, namely, 10-ish Greg Heffley (ZACHARY GORDON) & his family...

...  Zach has a 16-year old brother, Rodrick (DEVON BOSTICK), who formed a band called “Löded Diper” & has dreams of being a musician...  His kid brother is Manny (played by CONNOR & OWEN FIELDING)...  Their dad, Frank (STEVE ZAHN) is also fairly “wimpy”, blustering a lot but “accomplishing” very little of consequence...

...  The Heffley family is pretty much run by the MOM, Susan (RACHAEL HARRIS).  Her latest “off-the-wall” effort is to try to get Zach & Devon to “BOND” more--  which neither of the kids (& especially Devon) has any real “interest” in...

...  Zach’s best friend is a hefty kid named Rowley Jefferson (ROBERT CAPRON), who wants to do a “magic” act at a school talent show...

...  They both are bothered by the school’s resident “nerdy” kid, Fregley (GRAYSON RUSSELL), who they want to “avoid”...  And Zach is “smitten” by pretty girl Holly Hills (PEYTON LIST) who tends to avoid HIM...

...  The story consists of a bunch of “INCIDENTS”:  how Zach & Grayson respond to a scary horror-type film called “The Foot”;  how Devon tries to throw a PARTY when the parents are away from the house (which Zach is supposed to keep a “SECRET”);  how Zach acts when visiting his grampa at a Retirement home, etc...    

   

...  Will Zach be able to keep Devon’s party a “secret”, or will he “WIMP-out” & reveal the event to his folks?...  Will Devon get “CAUGHT” in his various deceptions, &, if so, what would be the “consequences”?... 

...  Will the “MAGIC” show go on with Zach & Robert?...  Will there actually be a real “BONDING” between the 2 older brothers?...

...  Most kids nowadays are comparatively “with-it” as to knowing what’s “going-on” in the world around them.  The kids here (& especially Zach) are NOT that way, &, altho Zach’s playing his role as “written” & the acting is “OK”, it becomes pretty hard to “BELIEVE” & “TAKE”...

...  To me, this “kids” film & a number of its characters came across as a sort or “DUMBING-down” to a “lowest-common denominator” type of audience (as opposed to “HOP”, which did not tend to do that)...  The “CONCEPT” was OK (about bonding & all), but the execution came across as “weak” to me...

...  I thus found a lot of the actions (such as in the Retirement home) to be “DUMB” rather than “cute” or funny.  In other words, it has the old “they took ‘Stupid’ pills” syndrome...  You could find far more “realistic” portrayals of kids in old reruns of “Leave It To BEAVER”...

 ...  The stick “drawings” are sort of clever, but that’s about ALL that really struck me that way.  Thus, I’m rating this at just 5.5 of 10 stars...

[  NOTE:  You can easily  SHARE  this Posting with your friends or family by sending them an automatic e-Mail LINK via clicking on the “M” button in the lower left-hand corner under “VOICE OF SILENCE” below...  ]

  (o_
   /\ 

= = =         …  ( <>  ^  <> )  ...