In this third film in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) wants to spend the summer before eighth grade playing video games and maybe, if he can finagle it, getting closer to his crush Holly Hills (Peyton List). The former plan goes out the window when his dad Frank (Steve Zahn) decides to ban video games from the house.
In order to connect with his young son, Frank schedules a number of fishing trips and signs the boy up for Scouts. Greg has more luck on the girlfriend front when his best friend Rowley (Robert Capron) invites him to go to his family’s country club, where Holly works as a tennis instructor. Soon, in order to avoid spending so much time with his dad, Greg lies to his parents and says he works at the club, a deception that his older brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) uses to blackmail him and gain access to the establishment.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (sometimes known as Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3: Dog Days) is a 2012 American comedy film directed by David Bowers from a screenplay by Wallace Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes. It stars Zachary Gordon and Steve Zahn. Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Rachael Harris, Peyton List, Grayson Russell, and Karan Brar also have prominent roles. It is the third installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, and is mashup of the third and fourth books in the series, but draws mostly from the fourth book.
The film was released on August 3, 2012 by 20th Century Fox. and earned $77.1 million on a $22 million budget. It is also Bowers’ second live-action film. Although the film is based on the third and fourth Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, there is a scene based on the first book, where Greg’s dad, Frank, is trying to unplug Greg’s video game system, but does not know how to. There is also a scene based off the second one, where Greg is sick on picture day, and his second grade picture gets sent in. Unlike the book, Greg was the one who was sick, where in the book, it was Rodrick.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days is also the last film in the series to feature the original cast members, as many of the cast (such as Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron and Devon Bostick) outgrew their roles and a re-cast was made for the future films in the series, starting with Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, which was released five years later. It is also the final film role of Alf Humphreys before his death in 2018.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)
Directed by: David Bowers
Starring: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Steve Zahn, Rachael Harris, Peyton List, Grayson Russell, Karan Brar, Melissa Roxburgh, Bronwen Smith, Philip Maurice Hayes
Screenplay by: Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky
Production Design by: Brent Thomas
Cinematography by: Anthony B. Richmond
Film Editing by: Troy Takaki
Costume Design by: Monique Prudhomme
Set Decoration by: Mary-Lou Storey
Art Direction by: Shannon Grover
Music by: Edward Shearmur
MPAA Rating: PG for some rude humor.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: August 3, 2012
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