MOVIE NEWS: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

OWL writer Ashley Van Eysinga checked out the latest movie in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Let’s see if it lives up to the previous two flicks in the franchise. Take it away, Ashley!

We are officially in the dog days of summer: the hottest days of the year (unless you are reading this from the Southern Hemisphere, like Brazil or New Zealand — then your dog days are in January and February). While we battle the blazing sun, everyone’s favourite Wimpy Kid is trying to make the most of his summer vacation. I settled into an air conditioned movie theatre and caught a screening of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days this week.

Photo: Diyah Pera/TM & ©2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

In the third movie of the Wimpy Kid series, Greg Heffley has an idea of how his summer will go. All he wants is to close the curtains, and enjoy hours of video games, soda, and junk food. His dad has a different idea and disconnects the TV for the whole summer (gasp!).

Forced into the summer sun, Greg tags along with his pal Rowley to the country club where he meets the lovely Holly Hills. Of course Greg wants to spend as much time at the club as possible. This leads to lying, sneaking around, fake jobs, wardrobe malfunctions, and some trouble from his older brother, Rodrick.

Here are three things I noticed about the movie:

1) Greg and Rowley make a great team. Same goes for Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron who play the characters. They looked like they were having fun the whole time. Especially when they ride the Cranium Shaker, a particularly frightening looking ride. The boys are actually riding while filming and saying all their lines (I don’t think I could have done that)!

2) Fans of the book should note that while this is only the third movie in the series, it is actually based on books three AND four. The writers combined The Last Straw and Dog Days into one movie so that the cast wouldn’t get too old to keep making Wimpy Kid movies.

3) Now I know Rodrick is the older brother, and not the nicest person, but he is all kinds of funny in this movie. He is still causing trouble for Greg and he is still trying to get his band, Löded Diaper (ew), a gig. He is played to perfection by Canadian, Devon Bostick. Just wait until you see his big musical number!

If you haven’t read the Wimpy Kid books, or seen the movies, then you may want to skip this movie, or try to catch up before you see it with a Wimpy Kid movie marathon. But if you are a fan of the books and the first two movies, then get ready for some sweet summer-time antics!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days opens today! Check out the trailer:

Thanks for your review, Ashley.

OWL wants to know: will you see this movie?

-Kim, owlblog@owlkids.com