I had to wait a little while before posting my review of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules” because I didn’t want to dwell too much on the outrageously annoying parent who inflicted her 3-year-old on the theater because she’s too stupid/lazy/ignorant to use the money she paid for a ticket and food for the kid to hire a babysitter instead. When the 10-year-old wants to see a movie, people, you don’t need to bring your whole litter.

OK, now that I got that out of my system, let’s talk about how the Wimpy Kid franchise might have clinched itself another Bridget, the award I give away for the best kid’s movie I see each year with its second theatrical installment.

Neither this film or the original has received a ton of critical acclaim. That makes me more secure in my enjoyment of them because I think some people, especially critics, are incapable of simply going into a theater and enjoying some escapism.

You won’t learn a lot from this movie and some of the action may seen cartoonish, but the film is based on a book which uses cartoons as a critical narrative device. If outlandish plot points offend you in a kid’s movie, you probably shouldn’t attend kid’s movies.

The cast does a great job bringing the Heffley family to light. Steve Zahn once again kills it with his portrayal as the father while Rachael Harris does an outstanding job as the uptight Mom. I really liked the touch of her embarrassing her kids through her newspaper column. I really have to be careful about that with my column and have seen some columnists write things that I’m sure did not go over well at home.

If you’re not looking for highbrow cinema and have a kid who enjoys these books, go check out the Wimpy Kid movies. At the very least, you should be able to entertain yourself laughing at how much they enjoy the experience.