This is a really good movie for anyone who likes to laugh. The protagonists are black and white, but the story is grayscale and has some technicolour to boot. The dad was probably my favorite character, his hilarious reactions and timing is just hilarious. To Greg Heffley, middle school is the dumbest idea ever invented. That's when Greg's older brother Roderick, played brilliantly by Devon Bostick, tries to fake drowning to the pretty life guard will save him.
The stories are so well written and relatable, that you can't help but love the books and the movies. And as a 13 year old reviewer said. High School was much more difficult to survive than high school. But the 2 Wimpy Kid sequels don't have that problem, they always leave something going on. It's a place rigged with hundreds of social landmines, not the least of which are morons, wedgies, swirlies, bullies, lunchtime banishment to the cafeteria floor - and a festering piece of cheese with nuclear cooties. So why did I watch it if I grade it that low? The scenes at the country club with his brother Roderick are just plain hilarious and embarrassing fun! Many times his face seemed false, I could say the same of Greg's father, but it could be just that the actor is ugly.
In the real world sanitation would have dealt with rotting cheese that magically survives generations without its decomposition spreading thin the remains until there is nothing to be seen. Go see this film, opening in theaters on August 3rd, trust me, you will love it! Taking place much earlier seeing Rowley becoming wiser was also pleasant; when Rowley ditched Greg, Quixote earned some sense of reality, Sancho Panza earned some self respect. I really don't find that true, sure, the books are aimed a little more for kids, as well as the movies. The movie also has a great message in it about growing up and learning from your mistakes. Turn off your brain and have some family fun. The continued trials and tribulations of the main character - Greg Heffley, are made even more hilarious and complicated when Greg 1 fakes a job at a country club to appease his father, 2 goes on vacation with his best friends family, the Jeffersons, 3 tries to further a relationship with a girl- Holly Hills, 4 has to put up with constant aggravation from his older brother Rodrick, and 5 experiences communication and relationship issues with his dad. If you allow yourself to lay back in the theater seat and let go of yourself for 94 minutes, you will be transported back to a time we can all relate to in our lives.
Steve Zahn who played Greg's dad was great also and so was Devon Bostik as Greg's older and tormenting brother. There are a few characters here and there that just aren't all that well acted, but you somehow can let it go thanks to the fun you get with your leads. The kids are exactly at the place their supposed to be in real life - 14 years old. No matter how old you are you can't help but enjoy this movie. A very relatable story about growing up and family dynamics. While it helps to see the other films just to know the characters, you can pretty much watch this as a standalone film.
I am overanalizying this and it is just a family movie to watch when you have time to waste, with an outcome that was the movie's hidden ace, in the hole or up its sleeves, only foreseeable as it drew near. But also at times the script seems like memoirs turned into a fable. The character of Greg is a little off he's kind of a dick but his relationship with Rowley is the important part. It has actually been a lot of fun for our family, following him as he matures in character and life. It's a place rigged with hundreds of social landmines, not the least of which are morons, wedgies, swirlies, bullies, lunchtime banishment to the cafeteria floor - and a festering piece of cheese with nuclear cooties.
Although it is apparent that the cast is growing up, since this is the 3rd movie in the very popular series , I found that it really didn't matter because we relate to the issues and problems Greg is experiencing and not his physical presence. There will be spaces that just feel empty and leave you to wait 5 minutes for something to happen. Jeff Kinney takes his story about a kid Greg Heffley trying to grow up and survive middle school, family dynamics, and relationships. His relationship with his best friend Rowley along with its ups and downs hey, just like real life was great for kids to see. Everyone felt that this kid actor, Zach Gordon, did a great job of bringing life to this complex character and transforming Greg Heffley from a cartoon stick figure in the books to a real live person, while maintaining all his idiosyncrasies. Not much ever seems to go well for Greg, even when his best intentions are at stake, which of course, makes for fun movie entertainment. The entire movie flowed well, no moments felt dry, and that can be a big problem with some movies today.
These books are about the ups and downs of growing up and trying to deal with school, family and relationships. Overall, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, is a great, fun, enjoyable film for the family. In the movie, Greg led us on an emotional roller-coaster ride throughout the film: first we liked him, then we hated him, then we felt sorry for him, then we loved him. No one said anything about the Harry Potter kids getting older and the same holds for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Sidenote: Rodrick, Greg's older brother, was certainly a source of fun, all his abuse on Greg came out with delicious gusto as I hated that petty fool throughout the whole movie. No, seriously, the books are hysterical.
That said, the movie does capture the heart of the books, and that's what matters. And there's people like that in the real world, the black and the white by western metaphorical standards. It stays true to the book which was a concern all of us had before seeing the movie. Greg doing the right thing for the first time in the movie and earning a little something for that, and becoming wiser, was an unexpected source of pleasure, and it justified him being such a jerk before that, character development and heel-face turn is not possible if all you have is a face from the start. No word if another film will becoming for this franchise, but there are still two other books to work from, so we can only hope.
Manny then gets stuck in the tube maze above the ball pit, which means Greg must go get him. The Wimpy Kid movies are John Hughes style movies but focus on Jr. The main character of the movie, Greg Heffley played wonderfully by Zachary Gordon stayed true to the book and he was totally believable. To survive the never-ending ordeal and attain the recognition and status he feels he so richly deserves, Greg devises an endless series of can't-miss schemes, all of which, of course, go awry. I was expecting Greg to give up for once and for all and, somehow, despite the anti-climatic ending that would be, to have it all wrap up in a way that satisfied the seemingly wasted time I spent watching the movie. The beauty of the movie was the added sensitivity and emotionality that presented itself in the film that wasn't available to us in the novel.
I was waiting for Greg to touch the cheese. Roderick's facial expression is priceless and this scene is just so funny, I could not stop laughing. However, you don't have to read the book to enjoy this movie. To survive the never-ending ordeal and attain the recognition and status he feels he so richly deserves, Greg devises an endless series of can't-miss schemes, all of which, of course, go awry. However, his father wants him to go outside and stop playing video games, and his mother has her own plans, including a reading club. Not only is this movie well written and very funny, but it has a really strong cast that help bring to life the Heffley family and make this an enjoyable film that the entire family can relate too and enjoy.