Diário de um Banana 2: Rodrick é o Cara

After I saw the first installment a couple days ago, I was looking forward to the sequel, and I'm glad I did. Does Rodrick rule? Sort of. But he's not exactly made out to be the whole show here. With a movie this entertaining, its predictability is the least of its problems. In fact, its not a bad thing at all. Like I said, the movie is a bit predictable. Needless to say, the party sequence is, of course, more predictable than anything else. The movie just wants to entertain, tell a worthy story, and it never gets old. So, with a movie this good, its flaws don't matter in the slightest. So I hope there are more sequels to come.

*** out of ****

Same song - second verse... Of course that doesn't mean it is bad. Some songs have a better second verse. I liked this movie. I find it hard not to like the family in this movie. I'm a school teacher and this book series is extremely popular with 8-12 year olds. I watched the first movie and found it to be better than I would have expected. This movie didn't give me the same feeling. Maybe the surprise was over or maybe it wasn't as good a storyline, but I like the first movie better. I noticed my kids didn't laugh as much during this movie and they both said they liked the first one better, but they were glad they saw Rodick Rules, of course they are both fans of the book series. If you have kids that are into this series then you need to take them to see the movie. I'm sure they will thank you for it.

Most adults do not have a high expectation for family movies like this, isn't it? After all, they are not those movies that contend for this award or that recognition. Then again, isn't it fun to have some great family fun once in a while at a movie like this?

The "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series is quite a big hit here in Singapore. Following the release of the first movie in this series last year, it received some criticisms on the pace and the low sense of humour but still managed to pull off a profitable $500,000 at the local ticket box office. This is indicative of its positive reception, probably owing to the vast number of readers of the illustrated novel series of the same name. As a result, Singaporeans are privileged to have "Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules" released a week ahead of its official theatrical release in view of March school holidays.

Typically, the young readers can relate to the obligatory activities and school life of Greg and friends. There must be someone in school that somewhat resembles Fregley, the queer one that often disgusts everyone. And also the puny but talkative person that cannot wait to show off what he had accomplished with his wits, just like Chirag Gupta. What about the most beautiful girl in class that everyone just can't wait to get close to? Lastly, let's not forget the die-hard BFF who does everything with you and even go through a distasteful sleepover. Even the older ones in the cinema could somewhat recall classmates who are fitting into these characters. With the talented child actors, they make these characters come to life and really lovable. There is great chemistry which makes it a joy to watch the development of the story.

This time, the movie has a pretty tight storyline and gave the audiences some really great laugh! The content is largely humorous, whether it's the quirky behaviours of the kids, the older brother Rodrick or even the Heffley parents. Comparing it to other movies in the same league, this movie stands out with better humour. One of the potential pitfalls of a family movie is having jokes that are too hard for children understand. In this case, they manage to dodge away from the potential pitfall as the jokes are pretty relatable to the children. Even the adults cannot help but to laugh at the goofiness. Enjoy some simple and good humour! One of the important factors that helped to increase the entertainment value was the 2-D sketches. They were incorporated seamlessly into the storyline and are both intriguing and eye-catching.

As suggested by the title, this movie is more focused on the brothers' relationship, a further development from the first movie of the series. Rodrick was more than an annoyance; he showed the "older brother" side more this time. Be it manipulating his little brother to achieve his motives, or embarrassing his little brother for his own pleasure, or even to passing on his little brother the "good" stuffs… aren't these again, pretty relatable to everyone? Exactly, we're back to it again: relevancy of the movie is indeed the biggest selling point of the movie.

As the movie winds up, it continues to stir our interest and leads us to a less sighted side of the brothers which is dear and heart-warming to watch. Upon watching, you'll probably nod to yourself and say 'indeed, blood is thicker than water'. Despite the older brother not wanting to befriend his little brother initially, at the end of the day he is still always there for him and vice versa. With more diaries to come, this series will definitely gain greater popularity among the young readers.

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The funny action among the family paired with the hilariously exaggerated events at middle school made the film a charming comedy. I enjoyed the acting of Zachary Gordon, the mother, and Rodrick the most, well done!

About a year ago I was tickled pink with Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a film adapted from the first book of a successful series by Jeff Kinney. I suppose it did decent business worldwide to warrant a follow up film, adapting from the second book in the series called Rodrick Rules, where the premise is focused more on within the Heffley family, in particular between Greg (Zachary Gordon), now in seventh grade, and his older brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick), while yet still holding onto its quirky comedy and shenanigans set in school.

David Bowers, who did Flushed Away and Astro Boy, takes over from Thor Freudenthal to direct this installment of the wimpy kid, though still retaining some signature elements such as the animation design which come directly from the books. We're reintroduced to the Heffley family, and it's pretty amazing how the sheer amount of incidents and subplots start to take their own life, providing slices of life moments from puppy love to sibling rivalry. There's Greg's infatuation with new student Holly Hills (Peyton List) with whom he tries too hard to get acquainted with, his friendship with best friend Rowley (Rober Capron) taking a hit because he refuses to be Rowley's sidekick for a magic show in the town's talent contest, and the continuing bullying of Rodrick on Greg, one which culminated in the latter running around in his underwear at an old folks home.

Those are but three of the many comical situations found in this installment, coupled with a house party that cannot be mentioned, but of course there's no smoke without fire, and what worked here is that most times things get set up for the fall only much later, coming in as sucker punches complete with rip tickling delivery. There's no wasted scene in the film, and everything sprawls out and collapses back nicely, in part I guess having a source material laying out a roadmap for the narrative to follow, with nice little easter egg touches that connects this film to its predecessor, such as the remnants of the Cheese Touch.

Don't expect very sophisticated direction here, as it may look and feel like an extended sitcom episode. But in all honesty the little tales that make up this film are nothing to scoff at, made all the more fun by the myriad of side characters / caricatures. There are still three more books to go, and I'm unsure if they will be turned into movies, though if they do, it better be fast before the child actors all grow up. Definitely recommended, and for its targeted demographics, I'm sure this will speak volumes to them, especially on its message of blood being thicker than water, and how siblings, no matter the rivalry, will always be subject to a quick patch up.