Diary of a Wimpy Kid -- Film Review

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" is a likable movie for kids that will make adults chuckle as well because of the movie's key ingredient -- wit. This usually gets left off the To Do list by most filmmakers who aim at young audiences. However, director Thor Freudenthal and multiple writers have retained from their source material -- a "cartoon novel" by Jeff Kinney -- the sly, painfully observant perspective of its pint-sized protagonist. His commentary recalls for most adults our ambivalent memories of middle school, an era over which no one suffers from any nostalgia.