c 2012 Money Saving Parent
My middle daughter has really been enjoying the books “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and has started, but not finished the “Dog Days” installment so it was with a lot of excitement that we attended a showing of the movie.
If you have read the book, then you know some of what to expect in this laugh out loud summer movie. If you haven’t I’ll try not to give too much away.
Greg is excited about the summer, but as we all know things rarely go as planned for Greg. He thinks he gets to sleep until noon and play video games all day but his brother, his best friend and especially his dad have different plans for him. Avoiding an “internship” at his dad’s work he claims to work at the country club, where he spends most of his time jobless, sneaking in his brother Roderick (thanks to some handsome blackmail) and where he adores his favorite girl (Holly/Peyton List) from afar.
When he isn’t trying to get Holly to notice him, he is trying to get his dad to notice him less. Just like many teenagers he feels like he and his dad have nothing in common but his dad keeps trying. Unfortunately dad makes a typical parenting mistake and keeps trying with only the things he enjoys or thinks that teen boys should be doing.
Look for summer fun to include swimming, trips to the boardwalk a roller coaster and even a camping trip. But these typical summer adventures are anything but typical! The entire audience from parents and teens to children laughed out loud at the trouble Greg can get in and usually that he ends up dragging Rowley into.
Here are some of the favorite moments in the movie from my family:
In the end, Greg finds out that family can be fun, that lying got him no where and even his parents learned a thing or two about parenting. He also manages to get the girl and Roderick one hot “gig.” Unfortunately the “Loded Diper” band’s debut at a popular girls 16th birthday party didn’t end quite the way that she expected.
As with all movies certain liberties are taken between the movie and the book.
But the unexpected laughs and family fun are what’s best about “Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days.” It could be your family or mine. The opportunities to laugh out loud – and I mean great big belly laughs or sputter you Coke laughs you just can’t hold back are often and everyone in the family no matter what their age will enjoy the movie the first time and even want to see it again.
