Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
August 3, 2012
Fox
Comedy
DVD
B-

Diary of a Wimpy Kid regulars include:

1. Dalila Bela as Taylor Pringle
2. Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley
3. Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta
4. Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson
5. Christopher Thorgard De-Schuster as Chris the Bass Player
6. Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley
7. Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley
8. Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley
9. Bryce Hodgson as Ben Segal
10. Alf Humphreys as Mr. Jefferson (this time actually with lines!)
11. Terence Kelly as Grandpa Heffley
12. Jeff Kinney as Mr. Hills
13. Peyton List as Holly Hills
14. Laine MacNeil as Patty Farrell
15. Andrew McNee as Coach Malone
16. Melissa Roxburgh as Heather Hills (formerly Rachel in DWK2)
17. Grayson Russell as Fregley
18. John Shaw as Mr. Draybick

As the subtitle suggests, this is set in the summer, which means we get much less of school, and classmates and teachers, than in the previous films.  I don't know if it's this, or that Zachary Gordon has hit puberty (like Harry and Ron in Chamber of Secrets, his voice seems to have dropped several octaves), but I generally didn't find this entry as entertaining as the first two.  And yet I am giving another B-, because it contains what is easily the funniest sequence in the series:  Rodrick's cover version of Justin Bieber's "Baby."  (Yes, each of my 2012 movies has a song or a band called Baby as the highlight.)  Bostick remains the best thing about these movies, and he has the moves like Jagger as well as a very expressive face.  Even the moment between Rowley and the bestie of the girl that Rodrick has spectacularly failed to impress is good.  If only the rest of the movie were on that level.  Still, it's nice that Zahn has more to do, with the central relationship this time being between Greg and his dad.  It's not a bad place to leave the characters onscreen, although of course in the books Greg and company continue to not age.

Dawn Chubai was a newscaster in the second movie as well.  Nicole Fraissinet, who was a Megastore Girl in Josie and the Pussycats, plays Receptionist Julie here.