As Greg Heffley enters 7th grade, he not only finds himself a crush with the new student, Holly Hills, but begins to bond with his older brother, Roderick, after they participate in a house party. Although they find newfound respect for one another, complications will get in the way of their bond and might send them back to square one. Out of all of the "Wimpy Kid" films, this is seen as the most beloved, mainly due to the amount of screentime Roderick gets. Unlike the slice-of-life approach that was used in the previous film, the sequel adds story elements/goals that have to be reached for Greg, which is mainly the school talent show and trying to make friends with Holly Hills. Personally, I like the slice-of-life approach as it's more in nature to the books and feels more genuine and realistic, but the more formulaic storyline works fair enough, although I have issues with Holly Hills, which will be addressed later. With the case of the comedy and heart, I feel that this film is funnier than the original which is helped by the story elements brought in, while the original had a bit more heart with the dynamic of Greg and Rowley's friendship as I feel that the bond between Greg and Roderick isn't as dramatic or heartwarming.
I won't go over the main characters in detail again, since they are the same as before, but the Heffleys are still very well acted and established. Zachary Gordon's Greg is still the same, but is much less selfish than before. Racheal Harris's Susan is still the supportive albeit embarassing mother who get more scenes with Greg, Steve Zahn's Frank is zany as always and gets some decent laughs, but is still a but underused, which is solved with the third film centring on his relationship with Greg. Robert Capron's Rowley is still enjoyable as always, but still is gullible to Greg's opinions and schemes, which is a bit of an issue as the previous film is very much centred on Greg changing for Rowley's friendship. Devon Bostick's Roderick of course steals the film due to the centre relationship between him and Greg. You can tell that he starts to respect and even helps out his brother as Greg "covers" Roderick's party. The relationship is also a permanent one as the third film retains that brother dynamic to the point that Roderick doesn't bully Greg in that entire film, which is only thanks due to the enjoyable relationship and chemistry with Greg. I won't go over the side characters much, except for two. Karan Brar's Chirag is given much more time to shine as he gets roped in with a side plot with Greg and gets a lot of laughs and payback for Greg's scheme. Then, there's Peyton List's Holly Hills, Greg's crush and the weakest character of the films. In the books, the character was mainly Greg's crush that Greg himself never truly got to speak to, which is due to his personality dragging him back. This works well as it's realistic and many boys have crushes that remained as such due to poor timing or their character holding them back. However, unlike the books where Holly never paid any attention to Greg, the movie not only forces her to have chemistry with Greg, but making her way too nice and relatable. It not only feels contrived, but the chemistry is somewhat hollow to warrant a friendship out of them. Outside of Holly's character though, all of the characters are perfectly casted and the performances that people loved from the first film are expanded upon here.
David Bowers replaces Thor Freudenthal for the sequels and carries a mixed-bag result in the process. Although Bowers gives out a more polished look and feel to the film, I do appreciate the unfiltered and down-to-earth style Thor gave out for the first film. Bowers is also just an average director with average camerawork, pacing, editing, and an emphasis on bright lighting for some reason. Like, this movie is just brighter than the first film and nighttime scenes are too staged because of this. I also feel that most of the settings and locations lack personality now. Outside of the goofy retirement home with the oddball seniors, the school and even Greg's home is not as characterisitc as before. To be fair, Bowers does manage to learn about the personality of locations with the third movie. The music by Edward Shearmur is just as average as Theodore Shapiro's score in the first film, to the point that it begs the question of why even bothering to replace Shapiro in the first place. The soundtrack is better and well-incorporated in the scenes and gags at least. Overall, Bowers does a fine job and much like Thor, this is clearly the best film he has directed. However, that's not saying much.
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules" has many of the same filmmaking tropes, but in some ways, improves over the first film, with the characters and actors doing amazing jobs as always, the emphasis of Greg and Roderick's relationship being the heart of the film, a much funnier script, and a better soundtrack. However, there are some issues that makes the first film better in my opinion. Holly Hills is not a very good love interest for Greg and one that is forced upon in the film, Bowers's directing removes the grounded aesthetic and personality-filled locations Thor established, and removing the slice-of-life template is a disadvantage as it does make this as well as the other sequels line towards generic family film. With that said though, I still enjoyed watching this sequel and it helps that I have an older brother myself which does make the brother dynamic very relatable to me. It's still an above-average film that can be good for the most part, but I personally feel that the first film is the best of the series.
Verdict: 7/10. Good and, at times, better than the first film, but there's a bit more issues that makes me appreciate the first film much more. Regardless, still a fun watch and recommendation if you have siblings.
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