Greg Hefferly has officially entered the most anticipated—and the most dreaded—time of his life: middle school. His older brother has filled Greg’s head with middle school horror stories and has promised him he’ll either be “dead or in home school” by the end of the year, which motivates Greg to reach for the impossible dream: becoming cool. Unfortunately, Greg has a few things working against him—like the physique of a stick figure, parents who seem cluelessly bent on embarrassing him in front of everyone, and a goofy friend who just doesn’t seem to have what it takes to climb up the coolness ladder. Desperate, Greg takes matters into his own hands . . .

What I liked about this movie:

There’s not much to love about this movie except for a few genuinely funny moments that made me laugh, and some semi-heartwarming “aha” moments that kind of work.

One of the more meaningful quotes in the movie happens during Greg’s foiled attempts to be cool, when he’s told, “After [school], it just becomes life, and all those things you think are important won’t matter anymore.” So true! Sometimes when you’re a kid, things happen that seem huge to you (like when your little brother steals your diary and shows it to the guy you have a crush on . . . yes, speaking from experience on that one), but eventually life goes on and you realize it was only a tiny dot in the grand scheme of things.

Greg’s friends, Rowley and Angie, have their own (healthier, in my opinion) approach to the middle school scene. Angie refuses to get caught up in the game of trying to be popular (she calls middle school an “intellectual wasteland”), and Rowley takes his mom’s advice to “trust your gut and try to do the right thing, because it’s our choices that make us who we are.”

In the movie, Greg learns that his self-centered approach to becoming cool is pretty lousy. After realizing how much he’s hurt his friends and getting some good advice (“He’s your best friend. When somebody’s worth it, you’ve got to put yourself out there”), Greg does his best to make things right. Too bad Greg didn’t consult with King Solomon before making decisions about how to treat his friends! Ecclesiastes 4:10 warns, “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”

What concerned me about this movie:

When I was a kid, I remember playing a game with my friends: we’d take turns asking the question, “What’s grosser than gross?” and then we’d think of the most disgusting things we could to try to gross each other out. (Totally immature and stupid, yes, I agree.) This movie was like an hour and a half of playing “What’s grosser than gross?” From hairy moles to talking belly buttons to moldy cheese, to Greg’s little brother sitting on a potty chair at the table and opening his mouth to show what he’s eating, to Greg’s big brother making him put his face in his stinky armpit . . . it just goes on and on. Ugh. Seriously, it is one gross thing after another. This movie should be advertised as an appetite suppressant, because it is nauseating.

Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” This movie is a major example of how bad things can be between siblings. Greg’s older brother threatens, intimidates, teases, physically abuses, and demeans Greg throughout the whole film . . . and then, when the opportunity arises for revenge, Greg takes it. The whole thing felt pretty empty.

Greg’s parents are unbelievably absent throughout this film. Other than showing up to embarrass him or provide a half-hearted attempt to keep the home front under control, Greg’s parents seem overwhelmed and passive. Greg’s mom puts her foot down with his older brother when she finds an inappropriate magazine in his room, and at one point Greg’s dad finally gives him some fatherly advice, but for the most part these kids seem to be operating outside the realm of parental supervision. At school the adults are clueless and sometimes downright mean.

This movie has some cringe-worthy language that takes God’s name in vain and substitutes words that aren’t actually swear words, but sure sound close.

Near the kids’ house is a wooded area called “Devil Worshipper Woods.” The neighborhood kids are afraid of it and stay away from it. While we shouldn’t intentionally put ourselves in contact with things that are satanic, we don’t have to actually be fearful, because God is with us, He’ll never forsake us, and He’s all-powerful (Job 9:4).

While I’m not making recommendations for whether or not you should see this movie (that’s for you and your parents to decide!), here are some “thinking” questions:  

1.     Is it OK to try to be more popular than someone else? Here are some interesting stories from the Bible about people who wanted to be the coolest (and one who chose to be humble instead): Luke 14:7-14; 2 Chronicles 1:7-12; Esther 6:1-12.

2.     The Bible talks about the importance of forgiveness and faithfulness (Galatians 5:22). When it comes to friendship, under what circumstances is it OK to stop being someone’s friend? Check out Proverbs 13:20; Matthew 18:21-22; Acts 15:36-40; Matthew 18:15-17.

3.     At one point, some of the kids at school joke about Greg and his friend Rowley “sitting in a tree kissing”—hinting that they are gay. There is a lot of talk in the media about same-sex marriage, and the homosexual lifestyle is becoming more present in movies, television, and books—including kids’ entertainment. What does the Bible say about it? Find out in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Romans 1:26-27; Leviticus 18:22; Ephesians 4:32.