Page to Screen: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

The movie version of the first book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was released in 2010. It’s pretty faithful to the book with the exception of the character Angie, who I don’t remember being in the book. She is a seventh grader and serves as a mentor to Greg, who is only in sixth. She’s played by Chloë Grace Moretz who I love in everything she does. She’s such a fabulous actress (Let Me In, Dark Shadows) that it was weird seeing her in a goofy kids movie.

The acting by the other kids in this movie was good and not over the top cheesy like in some of those Disney channel tween shows. There was a fair amount of grossness that boys will love. My six and eight year old boys thought this movie was hilarious and were riveted by it. My attention started to wane for the last half of the movie, probably because having read the book, I already knew what was going to happen. Even though it wasn’t my cup of tea, it was a great way to keep my boys entertained on a snowy afternoon.