Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days poster & wallpaper
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Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Robert Capron, Steve Zahn

During his summer vacation, "Wimpy Kid" Greg Heffley, the hero of the phenomenally successful book series, hatches a plan to pretend he has a job at a ritzy country club - which fails to keep him away... read more read more... from the season's dog days, including embarrassing mishaps at a public pool and a camping trip that goes horribly wrong. -- (C) 20th Century Fox

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70 critics

PG, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: David Bowers

Release Date: August 3, 2012

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DVD Release Date: December 18, 2012

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Flixster Reviews (1,687)

  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    January 11, 2013
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Not so wimpy after all!

    Good movie! This film is the third film in this popular series and is based on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, which are written by Jeff Kinney. The entire movie flowed well, no moments felt dry, and that can be a big problem with some movies today. Overa... read morell, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, is a great, fun, enjoyable film for the family. I can't wait to see what the studio is going to do next!

    School is out and Greg is ready for the days of summer, when all his plans go wrong. What on earth is he going to do all summer?
  • thmtsang
    December 30, 2012
    thmtsang
    During the summer Greg joins a country club to get close to a girl.
  • aSpaceCowboy
    November 15, 2012
    aSpaceCowboy
    The first "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" was about going to a new school and trying to fit in. An idea that's been used quite a bit and is handled decently while being embarrassingly humorous at times; well aware of its own silliness.

    The second film, "Rodrick Rules", has to do with mo... read morere with the brother and main protagonist of this trilogy, Greg (Zachary Gordon), butting heads and not really getting along. At the same time, Greg is crushing on a girl that just doesn't seem to be aware of him. Again, handles some mundane topics only this time with more silliness and more embarrassment to the point of self-satire.

    In this third entry of the "Diary", school has ended, it's summertime, and Greg is still dealing with his crush. Only difference is now his dad starts to work his way more into his life [story]. Or, at least he's trying to. Now Greg has to find a way to connect with his father before school starts up. Worse case scenario, he gets sent to a boarding school to finish out the last five years of his education.

    Now, I like these movies for the what they try to do while still keeping in mind that kids are the target audience. The Diary movies are do the same thing and it doesn't get old, but it does get sloppier down the road. "Dog Days" shows how. It takes the coming-of-age story of Greg Heffley and makes it less coming-of-age and more about keeping the state of this character [and apparently the actor, too] through a non-maturing and straight-lined journey.

    What got tedious in the previous installments were what the target audience wanted to see the most; all the over-the-top ways Greg seems to be able to embarrass himself. And every new one is either something we've already seen in other movies or something we've experienced ourselves. Either way, Greg seems almost destined to be the bad-luck magnet anywhere he goes.

    In case you're wondering how the crush and daddy issues go, they don't. Greg and his dad never had enough screen-time together in the first two, maybe intentionally that way to set-up the threequel, but it never occurred to me there was no bond between them. The movie drags this discomfort of them not seeing eye to eye for about 80 minutes making sure it isn't the main focus; a movie that embarrasses its main character every 5 to 10 minutes with summer-themed hijinks. Such classic 13-year-old shenanigans as sneaking into a country club, accidentally getting your best friend's dad thrown to the ground and handcuffed by the police, and of course, staying in a swimming pool for several hours because your swim-trunks got stuck on the diving board.

    Because this movie is a sequel it has it's share of problems most sequels face when trying to do something new. Most of the recurring characters come back to do very little and are often there just to keep the casting list shorter. Other times they're brought in just so the audience can remember they forget about them.

    The first "Diary" did such a good job at introducing character and giving them each plenty to do that's it's pitiful most of the ones that returned hardly do anything now. It's sadder to see how much this movie runs in circles to the point where it eventually becomes self-aware and tries to switch tracks... in the last 15 minutes. Everything that seemed like a dilemma wraps up hastily in these last few minutes without much build-up or inspiration to resolve. It just happens because the movie [and trilogy] is almost over.

    In conclusion, "Dog Days" takes what worked in the first movie and what didn't really work in the second movie and slaps them together, trimming off any promise it might of had. The embarrassing moments are there and so are the dilemmas no mattered how badly wither are tackled. It's watchable, but not re-watchable.
  • fb100000145236770
    August 5, 2012
    fb100000145236770
    "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" is the third installment in this fantastic series of family movies. This time around the kids are on Summer break before the 8th grade and anything that can go wrong, does. All Greg wants to do is play video games, but his Dad wants him to get o... read moreut of the house more. So, Greg uses Rowley's country club membership to get to know a girl, while lying to his Dad saying he has a job. That is the jest of it, anymore and it may ruin some of the plot details. This isn't the best of the three, but it's still a great entry. The humor is dead on, and all the performances are great. Steve Zahn has a much bigger role here, which is good because Zahn is always great. Also, this movie features the greatest cover of Justin Beiber's song "Baby", it has to be seen to believe. I wouldn't say this series gets better and better, but it's still entertaining and funny, which matters most. Perfect family movie for kids and adults. My wife and I went on a little date(our kid is too young to go to the movies yet), and we loved it and laughed more than most the kids in the theater. Probably not a must see, but definitely worth a watch or two.
  • fb1526363679
    August 4, 2012
    fb1526363679
    Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is the third installment in the film series based on the popular books, and is another harmless and silly addition that proves to be fun. These films are a guilty pleasure of mine, they prove to just be silly and fun and it really has a group of fu... read moren characters and jokes that will amuse both the young and old alike. The main problem with this series is that it is filled with many clichés and some jokes that are ridiculously gross. I mean I am not expecting some big masterpiece like The Godfather or Schindler's List, but I wish they could just get rid of some of the disgusting jokes that keep this from being a great series for kids. I laughed a lot during this film, which surprised me because I was expecting this to be annoying and childish, but it turned out to be silly and childish, which worked for me. It has the same kind of humor and story as the first two films and I really enjoyed that about it. I love the characters in this film, mainly because it seems like they have so much fun writing for these lovable guys and the scenes with Greg and Rowley together really shine. I honestly don't have a character that I dislike in this series; they all just make it so colorful and fun. I hope they still make sequels to this series because I still really enjoy it, even if the gross humor is totally unnecessary.

    The story follows Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) during his summer vacation and his antics again go crazy. He spends time at Country Club with his best friend Rowley (Robert Capron) while trying to impress his crush Holly Hills. In the meantime, his father Frank (Steve Zahn) tries to get his to spend his summer doing some physical, but Greg has plans to just play video games. Greg will have to do everything he can to make his summer as fun as possible.

    The plot of this film is pretty much an hour and a half of just silliness and fun stuff going on between the characters, and it actually worked for me. This series really doesn't have any storyline going on, each film is just a silly and fun time and it works for me. I love watching the characters and all the stuff they go through, and you can't help but love each of them because they are good hearted people and we can relate to one of them. If you have read the books like I have, than you must know that the books really don't have a storyline either so we just sit back and enjoy watching Greg Heffley's life and how he is annoyed by everything, everyone, and believe he is the smartest person of his friends and family. Greg is a funny kid, I mean he is a smartalick but we love him because of that and it just makes him an enjoyable hero. I love Greg's father in this film, I mean he was hilarious and watching his overreact was priceless, but maybe that was because of the hilarious performance from Steve Zahn. Rodrick looks like he is always on drugs, and it really just cracks me up with how big of a stereotype he is for bad boys in a rock band. Rowley was still funny for me; however he is getting a bit creepy in some parts as it seems he is in love with Greg more than being his friend. It just warms up my heart when seeing these characters, and they really make this series enjoyable to its fullest.

    The cast consists of some really funny young actors and even the adults get a large share of the laughs this time around. It seems to me that these guys have so much fun when making the films, which makes it twice as fun for me to watch. Zachary Gordon is very likable and believable for this character, and he has proven to be a funny and enjoyable young actor throughout this series. David Bostick is perfect for a role like Rodrick; he pulls off the cliché bad boy and really just makes me laugh at everything he does in the film. Robert Capron is like a miniature version of Chris Farley, and I think that if he is still likable in the next 20 years that he may become a very popular comedian. Steve Zahn stole the show with this film and I loved his performance the most. There is one scene where he is going crazy and tries to unplug the television from the video games, and I couldn't stop laughing. You know a cast is pure fun when you can tell they had as much fun making the film as you had when watching.

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is not a great movie but I still had fun watching and I think that is the important thing in a film like this. There were some very ridiculous jokes in the film that they could've taken out, and many huge clichés that made me just roll my eyes. In a film like this we can expect a lot of clichés, but I don't understand why we need that. I mean it felt like they really could've had a great kid's movie here that appealed to all audiences but sadly they had to put in some disgusting and dumb jokes that will turn many older audience members off. The kids will adore it, and I enjoyed it as well, but there were many things that were just too unnecessary. It does the book its justice and I love watching them bring the animation from the books to life in some scenes. David Bowers directed this film and the previous film, and he has proven to me that he can make a very enjoyable and colorful with a lot of silly laughs that make it fun for me to watch. I can understand why some people would dislike a film like this, but I consider this a harmless and fun summer movie that just adds on to the film series that I have come to actually enjoy.
  • jeffboam
    September 24, 2012
    jeffboam
    Dogged by simplicity but not dazed beyond redemption, Wimpy Kid at least whiles away an hour and a half of your summer. Lightyears better than its predecessor, Rodrick Rules, this second sequel can't stand up to the all-around A-level family entertainment of Pixar but it does pu... read moret forth better summertime hues than blues. In fact, there are a number of funny moments that are featured gratuitously in the trailer. Some involve humiliating a friend's odd family and some involve comic mishaps like a Civil War re-enactment gone awry, but most unfortunately involve upping the gross factor to the Ugh degree. Still, moviegoers can't help but become embroiled in the ne'er-do-well misadventures of Greg Heffley.

    In this PG-rated family-friendly sequel, wimpy kid Greg Heffley (Gordon) pretends to have a job at a ritzy country club to while away the dog days of summer, but ends up embroiled in everything from a camping disaster to a public pool mishap.

    Smartly, the series has relegated some supporting characters to the far fringes of the script (disgusting tag-along Fregley and Indian nerd Chirag, we hardly missed ye) while elevating more interesting players to the forefront (goody love interest Holly and Greg's wacky put-upon Dad, please step up). It's not always a fun-filled day at the beach but it's far from sitting through a laborious session of summer school. What's most amazing is that - given the modest budget, B-Level cast, and this series' success thus far -Diary hasn't been further exploited and spun into a Disney or Nick TV program.

    Bottom line: The Kid is alright.
  • fb1025970122
    August 20, 2012
    fb1025970122
    Maybe it is that we have now grown accustomed to who Greg is that he doesn't bother me as much anymore, maybe the fact that Rowley keeps getting weirder makes me understand Greg more, but what I've really began to question, especially in this third outing for the Wimpy Kid series... read more is why or how these two guys are friends in the first place. It is obvious that they are cut from two different cloths. Rowley is the more sheltered and privileged dork that at this point in his life still believes life is a bouquet of roses. Nothing wrong with that, but he's reaching the age that he's going to need to make a few of his own mistakes or his life is going to be a trainwreck (the kid has a fit here because he lied to benefit his best friend). On the other end of the spectrum is Greg, a middle class kid that is likely the average summation of every thirteen year-old boy out there. He loves video games, has a love/hate relationship with his older brother and is trying his best to stay on good terms with his parents. It speaks well for the series that the main protagonist is someone who the core audience of these books will be able to relate to and I have had pleasant experiences with the previous two films in this franchise, but there was something missing from the latest installment. Whether it be that Dog Days chronicles the adventures of summer rather than the events of the school year or that there is no sense of urgency to what is going on here. The film ends up feeling as lazy as the main characters desire to be during their summer break.

    read the whole review at www.reviewsfromabed.blogspot.com
  • fb100002343630392
    August 8, 2012
    fb100002343630392
    I honestly think this is the best in the series. the humor was so hillarious, it was a huge improvement to the series, even though they were hilarious in the first place. this movie has to be seen mostly to fathers and sons. this movie was the first movie me and my dad actually l... read moreaughed real hard, this movie was a personal comedy and it was like a really well made mirror on father and son conecction. its hillarious, its smart, it understands whats it about, and its by far one of the best films of the year. A+
  • fb100001786722043
    December 26, 2012
    fb100001786722043
    'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days' (2012) should have been the Last Straw! This movie was tedious, un-acted, and overall worse than the first two movies!
  • leekyle1968
    November 17, 2012
    leekyle1968
    Watched this with the kids today and i dont know...i'm thinking the best one was the first book to movie adaptation that i liked better anyways. It was ok and my son who reads the books wasn't totally impressed either. Greg our main charector is about to chuck the school books an... read mored get ready for his summer vacation...you know the hard life of everyday video gaming whilst older brother roderick sleeps like a bear. That is until dad (Steve Zahn) has something to say about it. This leads Greg in desperation in what to do.. once again using Wimpy buddy Rowley so he gain access to Rowley's mother's pool and day spa club most of all to spend time with new love interest Holly Hills ( Peyton List) which ends him up in a whole heap of trouble expecially when older brother aka cheif antogonist Roderick ( Devon Bostick) getswind of it and demands that he will tell his father of his secrets unless Greg also sneaks him in.

    Not a bad film and probably a good family film for those that have enjoyed the others in this series howev er the movies are running weakly on my son (A fan of the books) and myself so dont think we will be taking in anymore.

View All Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days Reviews

Critic Reviews

Matt Singer
August 3, 2012
Matt Singer, Time Out New York

Viewers enduring early adolescence or those grappling with its psychic scars will recognize the honesty in the comic humiliation. Full Review

Abby West
August 3, 2012
Abby West, Entertainment Weekly

Though often self-centered and conniving, Greg remains a likable kid, and the movie entertains by pulling off over-the-top scenarios that set up digestible life lessons for youngsters. Full Review

Nick Pinkerton
August 3, 2012
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice

Released right when summer starts to drag, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days at least doesn't add to the exhaustion. Full Review

Rafer Guzman
August 3, 2012
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

Old-fashioned and small in scale, the movies sometimes feel like after-school specials from a bygone era, which is part of what makes them so endearing. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
August 3, 2012
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

I'd call "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" harmless if it weren't for some totally unnecessary gay-panic jokes that could actually encourage bullying. Full Review

Sean O'Connell
August 3, 2012
Sean O'Connell, Washington Post

Spending time with Kinney's characters has become an annual treat. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
August 2, 2012
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle

Real emotions get expressed. Real family harmony emerges. Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek
August 2, 2012
Stephanie Zacharek, Los Angeles Times

Ends the series' winning streak, or at least slows it down to a panting, dog-day crawl. Full Review

Scott Bowles
August 2, 2012
Scott Bowles, USA Today

It all makes for goofy fun, and physical comedy that will have parents rolling their eyes. Full Review

Neil Genzlinger
August 2, 2012
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times

The execution isn't great. David Bowers, the director, allows too much hammy acting. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Greg Heffley: Wait a minute, this isn't camping.
    • Frank Heffley: You're a phoney, you're a fake!
    • Rowley Jefferson: I've never actually played tennis before...
    • Greg Heffley: We've played Ultimate Tennis on the Wii. It's basically the same thing.
    • Rodrick Heffley: Loaded diaper, activate.
    • Frank Heffley: A man who never made mistakes never made anything.
    • Frank Heffley: You got a job!
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