Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) is getting ready to start a very traumatic period in everybody's life, middle school. Not only is Greg one of the smallest kids in his class, but his best friend, Rowley (Robert Capron), hasn't quite adjusted to the higher grade levels yet, something that constantly embarrasses Greg. Greg's goal is to climb the social ladder quickly and become one of the year's famed "class favorites," but it seems that every decision he makes to get this to happen is the wrong one.
Greg's year starts off bad as he is forced to sit on the lunch room floor to eat, alongside both Rowley and the oddest kid in class, Fregley (Grayson Russell), then tries out for the wrestling team only to be beaten by a girl, Patty Ferrell (Laine MacNeil), and eventually even lose his best friend out of jealousy.
When Greg breaks Rowley's hand, and Rowley suddenly gains popularity, Greg's little green-eyed monster starts to show. When the chunkier kid takes over the comic strip for the school paper, it comes all out, and their long-standing friendship breaks apart. What actually bothered me a lot about the movie was how much of a jerk Greg was overall. Sure, it all works out fine in the end and the main character gets his lesson, but for a majority of the film, his conceited nature just makes him generally unlikable. From what I understand, this isn't the case in the books, and it's an odd direction to go for the film.
Acting as supporting characters to Greg and Rowley's story are Angie (Chloe Moretz from Kick-Ass), Chirag Gupta (Karan Brar), the previously mentioned Fregley and Greg's family; his mother (Rachael Harris), father (Steve Zahn), older brother (Devon Bostick) and younger brother (played by Connor and Owen Fielding). All of these characters do a good job of rounding out the cast. Angie is a middle-school misfit who sees through the bull$#!t of middle school. Chirag is the only kid smaller than Greg in the school, and is often the focus of bullies, while Fregley is a kid who seems to have nothing going for him, but is the source of much hilarity in the film.
The Blu-ray version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid not only comes with DVD and Digital Copy versions of the film, but also a few special features that are enjoyable, but nothing out of the ordinary. Alongside a collection of deleted scenes are a couple of fun extras that focus on Fregley and Chirag as well as a collection of Rowley's "Zoo-Wee Mama" cartoons. The only other added feature is a commentary track and the theatrical trailer. For a release touting itself as The Cheesiest Edition, it doesn't really offer a lot of features.
One of the more disappointing aspects of Diary of a Wimpy Kid is the fact that the previews showed the funniest parts of the film. Granted, in context, those scenes are even better, but the rest of the gags are only so-so in comparison. The film looks good on Blu-ray, but there isn't really anything there that makes it a must-see in high definition. I did enjoy the surround sound though, especially in the Halloween scenes where Greg's brother, Roderick, tells Greg and Rowley about the Devil Worshiper Woods - complete with eerie sound effects.
In the end, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a good film to rent, but the Blu-ray isn't necessary, and unless your kids like the books and end up really falling for the film, it isn't a must buy by any means.
