Plot
The film begins with the Heffley family outing to the local public pool to start off the summer despite the fact that school has not ended. While there, Greg is disgusted by the establishment's crowding, public bathrooms, and the unsanitary activity in the pool. While at the pool, the family meets a former trouble making friend of Rodrick (Greg's older brother) who has become a model student after attending Spag Union, a strict prep-reformatory school starting in the eighth grade. Greg's father, Frank Heffley, mentions aloud that Greg is in the eighth grade and ponders sending him there.
On the last day of school, Greg attempts to get Holly Hills to put her phone number in his yearbook in addition to signing it. However, she is forced to leave before she can write the last two numbers. Meanwhile Rodrick, who is advertising his band at Greg's school, falls in love with Holly's mean older sister Heather Hills, but she rejects him. Greg is disappointed that he failed to get Holly's number and that Holly stated he was a "friend".
The next day, Greg explains that he intends to play video games all summer while maintaining the illusion he is spending time outdoors to please his father. However, his plan quickly fails. In retaliation, Greg's father bans television and video games for the whole summer. Later Greg's mom, Susan, urges Frank to spend more time with Greg, and reminds him of his own neglectful father. Frank attempts to spend time with Greg by taking him to do his favorite hobbies with him, such as fishing and a civil war battle re-enactment. However, Greg accidentally ruins both these experiences.
Sometime later Greg's best friend, Rowley Jefferson, invites Greg to the country club, which Greg takes a liking to instantly due to the seemingly free food, the sparsely populated pool, and the fact that Holly teaches tennis there. While at the club, he arranges a tennis match the next day despite the fact that he and Rowley have never played tennis. When Greg returns home, he finds his father has offered to sign him up for an internship at his job, but Greg makes up a hasty lie about having a job at the country club instead, to get out of it and to go to the country club everyday. The next day at the tennis match, it becomes painfully obvious that Greg and Rowley have never played tennis, and Holly teaches Greg personally by holding Greg and showing him how to hit the ball.
At a party at Warren's, a neighbor's house, Greg's dad decides to get a dog for the family and to sign Greg up in the Wilderness Explorers to teach him responsibility after hearing it worked with Warren's sons. At the same party, Rodrick finds out that Greg does not have a job, and blackmails Greg into sneaking him in to the country club to see Heather, though his attempt to talk to her ends horribly. Frank gets the dog, which his youngest son Manny names "Sweetie" and who proves to be a handful. Rowley invites Greg on a family trip to their beach house near the Boardwalk, an amusement park. When they visit the amusement park, Greg convinces Rowley to go on the Cranium Shaker despite Rowley's conservative parents telling them to not go on scary rides. Rowley's parents find out, and Rowley is saddened when they state they are disappointed in him. Greg attempts to email his mother asking her to help him leave, but accidentally emails everyone on Rowley's dad's contact list. Panicking, Greg tries to escape by calling his parents, but accidentally contacts the police, which leads to Rowley's father being violently attacked by the cops for holding a knife, and an arrangement for Greg's father to take his son home shortly afterward.
Later, when Greg asks Rowley to take him again into the Country Club, Rowley lies and states he's not going there, so Greg sneaks in, pretending to be a member of the Jefferson family. He runs into Holly and her sister and manages to get Rodrick's band, Löded Diper, a gig at Heather's Sweet 16 party much to Rodrick's delight. He meets Rowley, who tells him he had lied to protect Greg's feelings after his parents didn't want to invite Greg. He and Greg make up, however Rowley's father becomes infuriated that Greg has built up a massive smoothie bill and tells Frank, who then finds out Greg does not have a job and is forced to pay himself. Much to Greg's horror, he and Rodrick intercept a promotional package from Spag Union for their father, and Greg fears that he is going to be sent there.
Rodrick says his last chance is the "Wilderness Weekend" where he can attempt to impress his Dad while out on a camping trip. However, their troop proves to be weak compared to Troop 42, led by Warren, who pitch their tents where Greg's troop was about to stay, forcing them to put their tents next to the bathroom. Greg and his friends overhear Stan and his sons mocking Greg's father and plan to set up a trap for revenge involving a nest of ants. However, Warren's expensive tent gets destroyed, and Greg discovers that Troop 42 has not been camping but living off of excessive conveniences. When Greg steps up and takes the blame, Frank is impressed and finds out about Troop 42's conveniences, angrily confronting Warren as a phony. Frank later takes Greg to a motel and reveals he never liked camping. He tells Greg that he will not send him to Spag Union and that he is proud of him.
At Heather's Sweet 16 party, Rodrick sings a rock variation of "Baby" by Justin Bieber in an attempt to win over Heather. However, he merely ends up ruining the party through a sequence of clumsy accidents. Greg apologizes to Holly, however she states she is happy as she felt that her sister deserved it. Then, Holly holds Greg's hand and starts to like him, and they bond in a romantic relationship. The final clip shows Greg, Rowley and Holly swimming at the pool and enjoying their summer.
cast:
Cast
