The book
- Alternative Character Interpretation: When Susan prohibits Greg from lying, he responds by taking Brutal Honesty to the extreme. Was this due to him not understanding the spirit of her directive? Did he not want to risk getting in trouble? Or was he trying to get his mom to lay off by being a pain without disobeying her instructions?
- Unintentional Period Piece: Rodrick, who's generally written as a rather unintelligent teenager more interested in being cool than actually bettering himself, is shown to be horrible with technology, far worse than his dad. This feels quite odd to say the least in the post-social media/smartphone world where technology is largely seen as a prerequisite to teenage life.
The 2022 animated film
- Signature Scene: The scene where Greg wakes Löded Diper up by rickrolling them is the film's most famous moment due to many considering it to be the funniest part as well as the scene most shared online.
- Tear Jerker: When Greg manages to perform a better drum solo than Rodrick, he's made as the new drummer for the band. Rodrick, in response, just flees the scene, visibly tearing up.
