Review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017) by Thequietgamer — 17 Aug 2017

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid is back with a fourth installment, and despite not being a reboot it has an entirely new cast. I can understand recasting Greg, Rowley, and Manny. The actors who originally played them are simply too old to play these characters believably despite being so well-loved in their roles. But Roderick? The parents? Why recast them? My best guess is that it was simply cheaper to hire them. Still, it's not like it helped the budget much. From what I've read it cost just as much to make this one as it did to make "Dog Days." The recasting wouldn't be so much of a problem if the new cast lived up to the old one. Unfortunately, they don't. They aren't as charming or likable, and they certainly don't have the same acting ability. This is especially noticeable in Jason Drucker and Charlie Wright, our new Greg and Roderick respectively. You know, the two main characters. They're about as amateur as amateur can get. Wright in particular.

But let's be honest everybody, the issue with this movie isn't that there are a bunch of new faces playing old characters. It's that the material isn't as good. This is very much a Wimpy Kid movie. It's got the same visual style and it's all about watching Greg scheme and make things worse. It's just nowhere near as funny as what came before it. The majority of the one-liners and play on words fall flat on their face. There are humorous bigger gags that are pretty funny near the end of the movie. That's when "The Long Haul" starts focusing less on the plot and instead on just screwing with the Heffleys as much as possible. So it's not like there aren't some laughs to be found. Kids in particular are likely going to have a lot of fun with this movie. Parents on the other hand are likely going to find themselves annoyed by the cheapness of the humor and unnecessary gross out gags.

As for the plot itself it's almost your typical Wimpy Kid setup. Greg concocts some scheme that naturally gets in the way of his parents plans which leads to a lot of crazy hijinks. Only this time around things are infused with a lot of cringe-inducing references to YouTube and the "let's play"-ers out there. That's right, the movie is trying way too hard to fit in with the kids. To be hip and cool. The writers know what's going on with the kids today. Always gotta be connected and stuff. Previous Wimpy Kid movies have kind of tied this to some kind of morals where Greg ultimately ends up learning something here. That doesn't really happen here. The movie sort of forgets to include the part where he learns his lesson in favor of all out chaos in the final act. I'm not complaining too much though because that's when the movie starts being funny.

In closing, it feels like no one was really trying with this one. A lazy cash-in on the name that's sure to disappoint quite a few fans. The casting is weaker, the writing is lackluster, and too often is it devoid of laughs. It's not a complete dud as the youngest of viewers will likely find themselves amused with it. On the whole though this is a really bad way to bring back the Wimpy Kid brand and may just have ensured that the series stays dead this time around on the big screen.

5.