by guest writer Jack Kirby
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is a good movie for kids who have been a fan of the series of books, but it’s actually really, really good. Because if people are a fan of [the books] this would be a very, very good thing for them to watch. It would be like a five out of five movie for them. I would rate it seven out of ten because it’s not the greatest movie I’ve ever seen but it’s still very good.
The Heffleys [mom Susan (Alicia Silverstone), dad Frank (Tom Everett Scott), teenager Rodrick (Charlie Wright), tween protagonist Greg (Jason Drucker) and toddler Manny (Dylan and Wyatt Walters)] are going on a road trip which their mom got from a magazine called “Family Frolic” and it pretty much just ends up being a disaster. And Greg really likes a certain YouTuber (Joshua Hoover) and he is at a place near where they are going. A really funny part is Greg doesn’t understand how maps work. Like he says it’s only two inches away, but that’s on the map and not the real world. There’s this family called the Beardos that are a random family that Greg runs into when they stop at their first motel and they keep showing up.
I think they didn’t really get it right with the Beardos because the main Beardo, Mr. Beardo (Chris Coppola), is fatter than he’s supposed to be and there’s actually no girl in the family. In the book, they actually run into the Beardos three times, not two. They left out the waterpark when they think the Beardos stole their stuff but Greg got the wrong locker number.
There were a few lines that were not the same as the books but the acting was pretty good. I thought Manny was actually a pretty good actor even though he had a stunt double and he was about five.
There were also some parts that made me sad. Like when his mom let him play screens [after forbidding phones and tablets during the trip] I cried because it made Greg feel guilty and I hate when other people are embarrassed and I get sad for them.
There are a few mistakes that I didn’t really like but other than that it was pretty good.
Jack Kirby is 8 and lives in Maryland. He likes Lego Dimensions, Minecraft and the YouTuber DanTDM.
Rating: 4 out of 5
