But predictability is, in this case, not so bad. The tropes
of the Wimpy Kids are familiar, but
in a contented way. Greg is a sharp comedic distillation of early adolescent moods
and each movie finds new scenarios in which to embarrass him. They’re relaxed
films that alternate their gags between observation and gross-out humor,
sometimes merging the two. Each time around, the episodic comedy setpieces
gather around a roomy narrative throughline. In the first film, the focus is on
Greg starting middle school, and in the second, his relationship with his older
brother (Devon Bostick). This movie moves the action from the school year to
summer vacation where the plot mostly circles around his attempts to get near
class cutie Holly Hills (Peyton List) and avoid getting in trouble with his dad
(Steve Zahn) who is on a mission to spend time with him.
Antics include sneaking into a country club, a trip to an
amusement park, and a prank-filled camping weekend, among other typical summer vacation plot
developments. Unlike the earlier films, the pacing feels a little off and the
big laughs don’t roll around as frequently. So, it’s probably the worst of the
three, but not by much. There are still plenty of chuckles and a likable mood.
And what the series gets consistently, exactly right is capturing the feeling
of early-adolescent angst. There’s a sense that Greg both desires close
relationships with family, with friends, with girls, and yet has an acute
anxiety about physical proximity.
Many of the jokes in Dog
Days play off of this tension, this push and pull, whether he’s grossed out
by the touchy-feely, sharing-is-caring family of his best friend Rowley (Robert
Capron), squeamish about walking through a community pool’s locker room, or
overconfident that his Wii tennis skills will translate to the real thing. Other
moments, when the film reaches for genuine sentiment, work just as well. The
film’s last scene between Greg and his father is quiet, but so very satisfying
and even just a little moving, as is the resolution of the plot between Greg
and Holly.
Returning director David Bowers has an unassumingly nice way
of staging these moments across the wide screen in a classical comedy way of
simple, but precise blocking. This has the effect of helping moments like father
and son trying to get a cut of meat away from a dog gain a kind of easy low-key
slapstick charm. (The gross out scene that follows this moment is one of the
funniest bits in the film.) Bowers also has a good way with actors, getting
character actors like Zahn as the father and Rachael Harris as the mother to
give charming performances as flawed but devoted parents. Bowers also trusts
his young cast to carry much of the humor and gets some nice comedic work out
of them. It’s a generous movie, giving funny moments to all involved.
Nonetheless, I’m a little disappointed with this
installment. It all feels just a little past its sell-by date, often unable to
find the right level of energy and novelty to animate many of its more tired
summer vacation plot points. But I still really like the approach of these
films and got a fair amount of laughs out of this one anyways. I just plain
enjoyed spending time with these characters on new misadventures while I still can.
The kids in the cast have probably just about aged out of the series. This time
around heights are rising and voices are dropping, so I’d guess it ends here,
especially with end credits that place pictures, one from each movie, next to
characters’ names. I wish the series could have ended on a stronger note, but it’s
still been a nice run.
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