Diary Of A Wimpy Kid- Book Review

Hi, I'm the Amateur Critic. I review just about anything.

I promised you all that I would do a book review, because, hence my slogan: I review just about anything. So, this is Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
No. Not the movie. The book series.

I read the books first before watching any of the movies. I gotta say: the books are better than the actual movies. The movie makes the story seem uninventive and cheesy that anyone can easily mistaken the story as a cheesy kids' commercial/jingle.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series was written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney, and was published by Amulet Books. This book series gives up both a novel and comic book mashed up into one book, or as the quote says on the front cover of the first book: "a novel in cartoons." I gotta admit that this book was funny when I first read the series, but when the movies came out, they mess everything up.

So what is this book series about? Well, the story follows the adventures of a boy named Greg Heffley, as he tries to survive middle school, as well as his own home environment. He has an older brother named Rodrick, who's into rock bands (and is in one, I guess) and can be mean to him at times. He has a mother that's typically naïve, and a father that cares more about kids obeying him and about his war history fanatic junk than his own kids. He even has a kid brother who doesn't know any better, and isn't even potty-trained.
-Well, I just wanna say one thing to Greg at this point: good luck with your family, because Thank God they're not mine!

Greg is friends with a boy named Rowley... who apparently acts like a 5-year-old than his own age. At times, he would run into trouble and get bullied at school. Heck, he even runs into trouble at home, whether it's with Rodrick or with his parents.

At school, Greg really wants to be famous, whether it's with the comic strip writing, or just getting a girl named Holly Hillis to be his girlfriend.

At the end of every story, the main character has a resolution and looks back at the things he did.

Character Analysis:

Greg Heffley isn't so bad of a character. But isn't he old enough to know what's best for himself? I mean, sure, he may be still a kid, but why can't he grow up some? He shows a big interest in video games and doing whatever he wants, but he has to work hard to have those luxuries; he can't just have it all in one time.
Also, he's too critical on things, like his family, his social status at school, and about other kids at school. He has this big imagination sometimes, that it most often clouds his judgment on things.

How The Book Series Did As a Movie:

Well, the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie made it okay on opening week, just losing to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, but still having the balls to beat out The Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler.
The movie itself had mixed reviews, because critics mainly criticized the protagonist of not being likeable to appeal to the audience, and the moral that the movie is trying to get across is being set aside to make way for middle school humor. But then again, the movie somehow appealed to the younger audience, because the story dealt with kids, especially middle-schoolers.

The Other Two Movies:
As for the two sequels Rodrick Rules and Dog Days, they were a little different based on storyline, because they added elements from the other books to make their storylines longer and a little more appealing. Plus, Jeff Kinney himself played one of the characters in those two movies.

Just like the first movie, Rodrick Rules took second place in the box office on opening day, except that this film fell behind Sucker Punch; but then it made #1 in the weekend box office.
-Okay, that was a big difference, compared to its first movie.
Also, like its first movie, it got mixed reviews.
-I guess the second movie was duller than the first.

Now, for Dog Days, this one got mixed reviews too, except it turns out that the main character is likeable.
-That's a big difference, because first Greg Heffley was not likeable, and now he is.

My Insight On This Book Series:
Whether you like the actual book series or not, needless to say that the movie adaptations are so cheesy that you'll need something like broccoli or nacho chips to keep the cheese from dripping onto the floor. I mean, in the movie, there's nothing creative or exciting about a kid's life in middle school, because it touches on issues like bullying and trying to be popular that that message is like a slap in the face every time you see images of it on the movie screen.
I prefer reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books than watching the movie adaptation because the books have more dignity than when movies try to bring it to life. It's such a waste of time and money.


Amateur Critic

Sources:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic

All rights go to Jeff Kinney and Amulet Books.