Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules

If you are a teenage boy, in a band, and trying to look cool for the ladies, the last thing you need is to be seen with your middle school age younger brother, or worse yet, your parents. In Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, this is exactly Roderick’s problem. Greg (Zachary Gordon) has survived 6th grade and he, Rowley, Fregley, Patty, and Chirag are all being reunited at a “Welcome to Middle School” skating party. The whole Heffley family is going and Roderick (Devon Bostick) is not pleased. He intends on sharing his embarrassment by tormenting his little brother.
 
At the skating party Greg sees Holly Hills (Peyton List) for the very first time and for him it is love at first sight. But according to Chirag, who has “Googled her”, she is totally out of his league. Greg doesn’t care though. If he is going to have a chance it’s got to be now before the new pecking order of 7th grade is determined. Too bad Roderick has noticed the attraction; his plan is to make Greg as miserable as he is.
 
When the boys begin bickering, to the point of an actual fistfight, Mom (Rachel Harris) and Dad (Steve Zahn) lay down the law. Susan Heffley has been writing an advice column for mothers and she can’t very well continue with her own house in disorder. So, she forces Greg and Roderick to spend time together and through the process things escalate. But this is a family movie so things work out in the end. The fun is watching what goes wrong in the meantime.
 
I really enjoyed the chemistry between Zachary Gordon and Devon Bostick. They display that brotherly dynamic and illustrate how a few years can really make a difference. Their relationship is the heart of the film and it’s nice to see two brothers grow, change, and learn how to appreciate each other. As far as Greg’s friends, they get less screen time in this sequel, but once again Rowley turns out to be the hero. When he decides to take up magic for the local talent show, Greg is mortified and tries to distance himself. But Rowley, always true to himself, perseveres and in a pinch he turns out to be the real party animal. Greg can learn a lot from Rowley.
 
The other thing that I like about these films is that they are age appropriate. The crush between Greg and Holly Hills is sweet and chaste, and the sibling rivalry between Roderick and Greg is believable. In this world Greg can still have a sleep over and have it not be weird. And when the boys throw a party when their parents aren’t home, they are still serving cola with no signs of cigarettes or drugs. This is a sanitized world, one that is nice to escape to. Not the world I live in, but one that is nice to visit. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is good for the entire family. Even adults will like this one.

Rating: First Run The gang’s all here and in 7th grade