Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (U)

Starring: Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick

I loathed the first Diary outing, and there is still something unedifying about the way Zachary Gordon's pubescent Wimpy Kid is bullied and tormented by his faintly atrocious older brother (Devon Bostick).

And yet... for a family entertainment this isn't at all bad. For starters, it has Steve Zahn and Rachael Harris as the firm-but-fair parents, even if the former isn't given quite enough to do. More importantly, it has the moon-faced, ginger-haired Robert Capron as Gordon's best friend, a kid so sweetly innocent that he will gaze at the new hot girl in school and say, "She's almost as pretty as my mom." I would almost watch this again just to hear that line.