I really wasn't looking forward to this movie. There are a few kids' aimed media shows/movies I enjoy, but these are few and far between. Not only that, but Diary of a Wimpy Kid looked a typical, uninspired kiddie flick that's only good for wasting a few hours on the weekend. While the film does have a few good elements to it, plus a surprisingly mature message, the script and overall juvenile comedy keeps the film from being anything but average.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid follows two young boys, Greg and Rowley, as they venture to become the most popular students of their class during their first year of middle school. As the year goes by, many different 'humorous' episodes occur - from becoming Jr. Safety Patrol officers to braving the so-called "Devil Worshiper Forest" on Halloween night.

The film initially sets out to be a comedy, with plenty of unfunny jokes and lame puns happening for the first hour or so. Afterward, though, the film takes a dramatic tone-shift to being a more "serious" film, as Rowley begins to become more popular than his friend, Greg. While I appreciated the message the film had in its latter half, it took so long to get there that the first half of the film looks very bad in comparison. Not to mention many of the jokes present in the second half are just as unfunny as those in the first.

Despite an absolutely awful script, the performances are surprisingly pretty good. These actors, only children, were able to capture their characters without appearing too over-the-top or appearing to be trying too hard. Granted, there are a few actors that are particularly annoying as their characters, but it never goes into a point of bad acting.

Again, to my surprise, I found the pacing to be quite good. Though the jokes were unfunny and some scenes were boring due to the subject material, the scenes never dragged on past their welcome nor did they speed by too quickly. Good pacing is something one wouldn't normally expect in a typical kids' movies, which I think really keeps Diary of a Wimpy Kid from being something I'd ocnsider to be a "bad movie".

The film has a ton of problems. Bad jokes, awful script, typical kids' movie themes, etc. and so forth. The performances, pacing, and overall message, however, make Diary of a Wimpy Kid smarter than your average kids' movie. That may not be saying much, as most kids' movies are insanely stupid these days, but I digress. The film's got heart, but it's bogged down by many of its flaws.