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Diary of a Wimpy Kid

4/10

Stars: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn, Laine MacNeil, Devon Bostick, Grayson Russell

Director: Thor Freudenthal

It's really hard to like the 12-year-old protagonist, Greg (Gordon), of this school story. He breaks his best friend's hand, then lets the latter (Capron) take the punishment for something he did. He's beaten by a girl at wrestling, and then gets his (considerably) older brother (Bostick) grounded by exposing his porno magazines. Greg is a self-centred little creep and it's no surprise when he becomes the most unpopular kid in the school.

Mind you, did anyone ever have an older brother quite as obnoxious as Greg's? Might explain a few things. Anyway, anything Greg tries to climb the school's popularity pole (deservedly) crumbles to ashes.

People tell me the original book is hilarious, but there are no laughs here, and no incidents that you can actually believe in. Gordon has a great singing voice, although that hardly compensates for his lack of talent in other directions. Rest of the acting is on the shouty side, with Zahn wasted as the boy's manic father. The school scenes are completely unconvincing although, to be fair, some of them are meant to be exaggerated - something that proves a waste of effort.

David Quinlan

USA 2010. UK Distributor: 20th Century Fox. Colour by deluxe.
92 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: PG.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 21 Aug 2010