Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (06/21/2011)

Rated PG for some mild rude humor and mischief.

Starring Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris and Steve Zahn

Directed by David Bowers (Astro Boy and Flushed Away)

A sequel that is just as good as the original.

Greg (Zachary Gordon) and Rowley (Robert Capron) begin seventh grade in this sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Greg falls for the new girl Holly Hills (Peyton List) and renews his attempts to be popular. Meanwhile, his mom (Rachael Harris) has begun writing a newspaper column about parenting that further embarrasses Greg. And his older brother, Rodrick (Devon Bostick), continues to torment him. When their parents go out of town for a weekend, Rodrick throws a party, and then the brothers conspire to clean up their mess and hide the evidence. This conspiracy brings them closer as brothers, but what happens when the other shoe drops?

My son, Caleb and I saw the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid film last year and we were both looking forward to the sequel. He’s read all the books and a few of them we have read together…so I thought this was going to be a real treat. Truthfully, it exceeded my expectations. We laughed through the entire movie and walked out of the theater singing…”EXPLODED DIPER!”

The latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie gets a new director, but it keeps the same tone and the same amount of laughs. The potty humor is toned down this time, and replaced with more embarrassing humor. Think about every nightmare you had in Middle School (i.e. running around in public in nothing but tighty-whiteys and sitting on an ill-placed candy bar on your way to church).

The plot this time is less about Greg and Rowley and more about Greg and Rodrick, his older brother. Greg’s well-meaning mother desperately tries to bring the two closer together. She seems to be the only person on the planet who fails to recognize that Rodrick believes his only purpose in life is to be the drummer in Löded Diper and make Greg’s life miserable.

The cast of child actors has great comedic timing and plays their roles perfectly. Not only are they likeable…they are all too familiar to each of our own memories. When they’re not making you laugh, they’re making you winch…and then you laugh.

Fans of the original movie will find more to enjoy here. And even though there is less Rowley in this one, it’s still Theater Worthy.

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
Absolutely! There’s less potty humor this time around, except for some bird poop – which is pretty funny. There is a scene in which Rodrick throws a wild party while his parents are out; teens drink from anonymous red cups and act crazy, though there’s no real mention or implication of alcohol. Other scenes include some shouting, threatening, and bullying, as well as a brief fight. Characters also toss around middle-school insults like “jerk,” “loser,” and “butt brain.” You know you are going to use butt-brain sometime this week.

Conversation Starter
Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):

Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?
A: The main theme of this installment in the relationship between Greg and Rodrick. They DO NOT get along. Rodrick is mean and malicious. He bullies Greg and often demeans him in front of his friends. But when Greg is willing to lie to his parents to cover for Rodick’s party, he “takes him under his wing. The two share a few moments together and the Rodrick teaches Greg his three rules:

1. Don’t be good at something you don’t want to do.


2. Always lower mom and dad’s expectations.


3. Never do something someone else can do for you.

Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?
A: Obviously that’s not great advice and as Christians we are constantly hearing bad advice. Ask your child/student if they ever got some bad advice? Where did it come from? Where else does bad advice come from? (Listen for answers like media, some friends…) The truth is we can get ourselves in real trouble (a lot like Greg did) if we listen to bad advice.

In fact Proverbs 12: 5 says, “The plans of the godly are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.”
And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that, “bad company corrupts good character.” So we need to be careful who we are listening to.

Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?
A: Ask your child/student if they think Rodrick is a good role model for Greg? Are Rodrick’s “rules” helpful? Why or why not?

As we see in each example, Rodrick’s “rules” are great for the person living by those rules, but they can hurt the people around them. In a word, they are “selfish.” And scripture tells exactly how we should live out these opinions.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. – Philippians 2:3-5 (NLT)