Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon), celebrated hero of the titular, popular YA book series, is looking forward to summer vacation with his friends. But his parents (Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn) have plans for outdoor family togetherness, although that won't include playing video games or reading comics. So Greg joins best friend Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron), slurping fruit smoothies at Rowley's fancy country club. But things don't quite work out, and when a beach outing Greg was looking forward to is cancelled because the Heffleys don't have enough money, Greg winds up enduring embarrassing calamities at a public pool. The summer continues to slide from bad to worse when a camping trip goes horribly wrong, and Greg's lawn care service is a bust. Plus, Greg must endure Rodrick (Devon Bostick), his obnoxious older brother who's obsessed with his heavy metal band Löded Diper. Based on author/cartoonist Jeff Kinney's third and fourth books, Dog Days is more scattershot and strung together than earlier entries in the series, and since Gordon is now a teenager with a changing voice, his angst is taking a more adolescent turn. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director David Bowers, deleted scenes with optional commentary (10 min.), a gag reel (5 min.), a “Class Clown” animated comic (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the FX Movie Channel-produced production segment “Wimpy Empire” on the franchise and creator Jeff Kinney (10 min.), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so threequel.] (S. Granger)