The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is the continuation of the first book in Jeff Kinney's series of books that tell the story of middle schooler Greg Heffley and his struggles at school and at home. It picks up where the preceding book left off, telling how Gregory spent his summer after surviving his first year of middle school. Being an unsuccessful part of a swim team, Greg spent most of his summer hiding in the bathroom during swim meets. The rest of his summer consisted of trying to endure being picked on by his older brother Rodrick. The rest of the book tells all the quirky things that happens Greg's second year in middle school. There are funny occurences that show how awkward middle school is for most kids. Rowley, his best friend, does all kinds of not-so-cool things such trying out for the school talent show as a magician. No matter what Rowley does, it seems to be dorky in Greg's eyes and he's always ashamed of how Rowley behaves. The biggest theme throughout this book, however, is Greg's struggle with his brothers Rodrick and Manny. Rodrick gains great pleasure from torturing Greg anyway that he can. Manny is only three, but constantly tattle tales on everything that he sees Greg do. Rodrick's only ambition in life is for his rock band to be successful. He manipulates his dad into writing all his school reports for him, and is constantly conning his mother. He makes Greg's life miserable by always getting him into trouble and treating him like dirt.
While the movie includes hilarious incidents from the book, it is also includes quite different scenes than the book portrays. In the movie, Greg falls for a beautiful, blonde girl named Holly Hills and most of the movie focuses on his big crush he has on her. In the book, Holly Hills is mentioned briefly about three quarters of the way through the book as a girl that Greg likes. Greg thinks she's pretty, but in the movie he obsesses about how he can get her attention. The biggest theme of the book is the rocky relationship between Rodrick and Greg. In the movie, their mother creates "Mom Bucks" to encourage the boys to spend more time together, whereas in the book, "Mom Bucks" are more of a reward for chores. Rodrick learns to manipulate the system and Greg seems to get the shaft. When their parents go away for one weekend, Rodrick decides to call all his friends over and have a party. Greg knows they shouldn't have anyone over, but is excited about seeing a high school party. Rodrick tells Greg to go get something in the basement and then he locks the door as soon as Greg descends the steps. In the book, Greg spends the night on the steps. In the movie, Greg makes his way back up and he and Rowley are the life of the party. This secret party creates a bond between Rodrick and Greg. They stop arguing and start hanging out together until Greg finally breaks and tells his mom what happens. This whole bonding scenario makes for a good movie, but it never exists in the book.
Both the movie and the book are very funny and entertaining. While the book is geared for an eight to ten-year-old audience, the movie takes certain liberties in order to attract a broader range of ages. Throwing in a pretty girlfriend for Greg, making Greg and Rowley a part of the school talent show, and Greg running down the halls of his grandfather's retirement village in his underwear are all unforgettable parts of the movie. However, in the book these events did not take place. In my opinion, most books have a better storyline than the movie made from them. While this movie is certainly different from the book, it is still very funny and I like how Rodrick and Greg bonded in the movie. To be honest, I do think I liked the movie better, perhaps for the reason listed above--it is geared for an older range of ages than the book is. I took my seven-year-old son to see this movie and he was bored out of his mind. When I read the book to him, he couldn't stop laughing.
The movie and the book are both wonderful examples of the struggles that middle school age kids endure and how they come out okay after all. Jeff Kinney has definately created unforgettable characters that help us laugh through those awkward moments in life.
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