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Jason Drucker plays Gerg in "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul." (20th Century Fox)

20th Century Fox

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Parents need to know that “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” is the fourth movie in the series based on Jeff Kinney’s super-popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books, but it has an all-new cast. (Common Sense Media/TNS)

Common Sense Media

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Parents need to know that “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” is the fourth movie in the series based on Jeff Kinney’s super-popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books, but it has an all-new cast. In this installment, Greg Heffley (now played by Jason Drucker) is forced to go on a road trip with his family; predictably, chaos ensues. As in the previous three movies, there’s a lot of gross-out humor involving pee, poop and vomit, as well as some insult language (“loser,” “fat,” “stupid,” etc.) and chase scenes. Stressful moments include car accidents, Greg being pursued by an angry man, and a runaway boat. There’s a running theme of putting technology aside to better enjoy family time. And although much of the behavior in the movie isn’t particularly admirable, the characters do come together in the end, and — amid the sibling torment and fart jokes — there are positive messages about the importance of family and perseverance.

WHAT’S THE STORY?

In “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul,” Greg Heffley (Jason Drucker) is so over spending time with his family — he’d rather have fun this summer, to help him forget about a humiliating viral video. His plans are foiled when his mom, Alice (Alicia Silverstone) plans a cross-country family road trip to Greg’s great-grandmother’s house for her 90th birthday. And when it doesn’t seem like things could get any worse, Alice declares it a technology-free vacation. But Greg will do just about anything to get to a gaming convention so he can meet his idol and clear his name.

IS IT ANY GOOD?

If you’re a fan of the Wimpy Kid series, you’ll probably enjoy this one, too, even though it doesn’t do anything new and isn’t particularly good. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” begins with Greg getting caught on video doing something super embarrassing, and it immediately goes viral. This begins a series of events that puts Greg in ridiculous, sometimes funny situations. Like the three movies before it, “Long Haul” is all about gross-out humor and cringe-inducing situations. There’s no discussion about the shame the video has caused him — it’s not that kind of movie.

The only thing really new/fresh about this fourth installment in the movie franchise based on Jeff Kinney’s best-selling book series is the cast, including Silverstone as mom Alice, who’s trying really hard to make her family get off of their phones and talk to each other — even though when they do talk to her they don’t have anything nice to say. Greg does get a big lesson at the end, but not until he ruins the family’s vacation, destroys their car, runs away and ends up making his viral video situation worse. The family comes together in the end, but it takes a long time to get there.

RATING AND CONTENT

Recommended for ages 8 and older

Quality: 2 out of 5

Educational value: 1 out of 5

Positive messages: 3 out of 5

Positive role models: 2 out of 5

Violence and scariness: 2 out of 5

Sexy stuff: 0 out of 5

Language: 1 out of 5

Drinking, drugs, and smoking: 0 out of 5

Consumerism: 2 out of 5 (Are products/advertisements embedded? Is the title part of a broader marketing initiative/empire? Is the intent to sell things to kids?)

MOVIE DETAILS

Theatrical release date: May 19, 2017

Director: David Bowers

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Genre: Family and Kids

Run time: 90 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG