Diary of a Wimpy Kid” is the best movie of 2010 so far. Everything about it is sterling: the acting, the story, the dialogue, the soundtrack, the pacing, the humor, the editing. Everything clicks and pops. Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) is going to middle school for the first time and is trying to navigate and negotiate the labyrinth and wants to be popular. Greg is an overly articulate little operator who desperately wants to be popular and is constantly scheming new ways to get to the top. He is even willing to sell out his decidedly uncool best friend Rowley (Robert Capron). There are many layers to a tween’s life, and Greg’s include: a sadistic older brother, baggage from kindergarten (yes, kindergarten), where to sit in the cafeteria, bullies, girls, sports, growth spurts (or lack of them), and general pre-teen angst. Greg is a keen observer of his own life, and journals and doodles it all. He is precociously civilized, dignified and refined for his age. But he’s hell-bent on using his gifts (rather unsuccessfully) only for his own advancement. The moral of this movie? Ambition and temptations to compromise on what’s right start young. Greg is off to a bad start for most of the movie. His only hope for salvation is learning the meaning of true friendship. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” avoids all kinds of movie-making tropes, and is a surprisingly fresh and profound take on young people’s development of character. There is no snarkiness or smart-aleckiness. Just kids as kids trying to survive and make their way in life, getting involved in downright hilarious, yet not too impossible, adventures. It is nonstop entertainment — including adolescent boy gross-out humor — but it’s never quick and cheap. It’s all expertly folded in to a fully-fleshed out story. Every scene deftly advances character and plot. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” could be a model for how movies are supposed to be made, without being textbook, formulaic or trite. We don’t see what’s coming next (unless, perhaps, you’ve read the books, which I haven’t). The props, sets and scenery are jam-packed with delightful sights. Greg is small for his age and it seems his only defense is to live by his wits. But he is often too clever for his own good. Even dorky kids are eventually liked for persistently and genuinely being themselves. Greg’s grandiose ideas of himself and his future need to be tempered by the things that really matter in life. Can we adults learn from a wimpy kid’s diary? You bet.