A great kiddie movie can entertain anybody, from a grandma right down to a grade-schooler. From a pony-tailed film snob down to the happy-go-lucky mainstream moviegoer, because an excellent storytelling is an excellent storytelling! Simple as that. Regardless of the target audience.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, the third installment of the Wimpy movie franchise based on the bestselling book series by Jeff Kinney, is my first introduction to the popular world of the wimpy hero, Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon). But after I left the cinema, I was not converted to the Cult of the Wimpy Kid.
In Dog Days, summer vacation has finally started and Wimpy Greg, who is not really wimpy in the pure sense of the word, is excited to spend the summer playing video games with his major crush, Holly (Peyton List) because, well, he's the "indoor type." Unfortunately, his father (Steve Zhan), the genuine wimp in this kiddie tale, forces Greg to go outside and live life this summer, and so the reluctant Greg is forced to lie to his father in order to please him, while trying to fulfill his real summer agenda.
Directed by David Bowers and co-written by the book author, Dog Days make it seem as if the kid's diary lacks imagination and details. Maybe it's a planner? And not really a diary? The thing is, Greg's summer events are interesting, in fact they are waaaaaaaaaay more interesting than the events in the last five years of my life, but the way the events are told terribly lacks humor and imagination, surprisingly lacking that kind of unedited, raw observations and rich material usually found in diary entries-- even by seventh graders. The movie doesn't say much. It feels like you're watching a 3-page script, with lines that are flat and limited. Many times a situation happens when you naturally expect the character to say something, to verbally react, but he or she doesn't; the character simply acts out the particular emotion and the movie cuts to the next scene. Like tongue-tied, or shy, or simply speechless.
There are scenes that will make you LOL, but they're not even the kind that you'd cherish as comedic excellence. Greg's older brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick), a pseudo-goth who cannot spell, is the only character that tickled my fancy and caused me to burst into short-lived laughter and choke on my popcorn, and Greg's chubby best friend Rowley (Robert Capron) comes next because he's just so cute, serious and morally strict.
Anyway, Dog Days teaches a valuable lesson about the evils of perfectionism, lying, and trying to pretend to be someone you're not...and some father-son relationship lessons. There's a dog in the movie, too.
With Greg's interesting summer, it's got high potential for fun, creative storytelling but, alas, If Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days were a TV series, I'd most likely switch channels fifteen minutes into it and watch Hannah Montana instead (and I'm not even a fan of Miley Cyrus). But if you're a fan of the Wimpy Kid series and enjoyed its first two movies, you will surely enjoy this, too. I know, because I've spoken to two fans and they loved it.
2 out of 5 stars
Opens in Philippine cinemas August 15, 2012
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