The Movie
I've been thinking entirely too much about my disappointment with the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and I suppose that my issue could apply to any book adaptation, really. I read a couple of the volumes aloud to my kids and, well, my Greg Heffley is a lot different from the one on screen. Almost nothing in that movie was as I imagined it would be, a reminder that not every joke in the world is meant to be dramatized, especially not those which worked perfectly in single-panel cartoons, mixed with Greg's acerbic prose.
I suppose that now, by the sequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, I'm over the shock of seeing these crude pencil-rendered characters brought to flesh-and-blood life. The actors' faces and their trappings are now familiar, and so we can dive into the story at hand, wherein tensions between Greg and big bro Rodrick (and even little Manny to a lesser extent) have reached a boiling point. Sprightly mom goes so far as to pay them to get along, a plan which almost immediately backfires.
The screenwriters have added meat to the somewhat lean story of the book, also adding a note of sentimentality that just wasn't there before, and probably shouldn't be here now. After a wild party while mom and dad are away, Greg and Rodrick might actually be bonding, but their tenuous truce is in danger of self-destructing just as a local talent competition draws near, and Rodrick is forced to sit it out while his band--Löded Diper--takes the stage, as punishment for his misdeeds. Will Greg take a bullet for him, saving the day and their family unit?
The Picture
Rodrick Rules was shot on 35mm film and displays here a strong palette marked by warm tones overall. Blacks are deep if not exceptionally nuanced, while out-of-focus backgrounds generally look clean and natural. The textures can sometimes really pop in HD, although grain and a bit of flickering noise can also intrude upon the 2.4:1 image.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack offers a pleasing fullness, with the music noticeably extending into the rear channels. There's a clear left-to-right spread and a bit of discrete audio across the front soundstage, but except for an occasional voice behind us and the odd incidental or comedic sound effect reaching beyond the screen, don't go listening for a whole lot of multichannel action.
The Extras
Director David Bowers is joined by author Jeff Kinney for the audio commentary. Bowers also flies solo for his optional musings on the ten deleted and extended scenes (about nine minutes) and the minute-and-a-half alternate "Stealthinator" ending. All of these scenes are in HD, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Seven little in-character "My Summer Vacation" vignettes (nine minutes total), along with a gag reel, are also presented in HD.
This Blu-ray supports Fox's "Live Extras" BD-Live with "What's New" and the exclusive two-minute "Plainview's Most Talented" clip available to stream or download. Disc Two is a standard DVD of Rodrick Rules with the director/author commentary and two of the shorts. Disc Three carries a Digital Copy of the movie for iTunes and Windows Media.
Final Thoughts
A lot of goofy little gags don't quite add up to a whole movie but fans of the books might want to check out the Wimpy Kid's latest and probably last big-screen outing, here in a well-adorned and not-bad-quality Blu-ray.
Product Details
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