Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is a 2017 American road comedy film written and directed by David Bowers and cowritten by the books' author Jeff Kinney. It serves as a sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, and the fourth installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series and the final live-action film in the franchise. It was based on the ninth book of the same name, with elements of the seventh, eighth, and tenth books in the series. It is also the only live-action installment in the series not to feature the cast members from the first three films. It instead features a completely different cast (which includes Jason Drucker, Alicia Silverstone, Tom Everett Scott, Charlie Wright, and Owen Asztalos), and the plot follows the Heffleys as they go on a road trip to Meemaw's 90th birthday party, without realizing the various calamities that will occur along the way.
After the release of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days in 2012, the film was described as the last live-action one in the franchise, with the original cast and crew indicating that were no plans for a fourth film. By 2016, a live-action adaptation of the ninth book, The Long Haul, was in development, with the aforementioned new cast.
The film received negative reviews from critics, with much of the backlash aimed towards the casting change. The film was also a box office disappointment, only grossing $40 million worldwide against a $22 million budget.
The film would later be the last one in the series to be produced by 20th Century Fox before the studio was acquired by Disney in 2019 and the last one before the series was rebooted into animated films, starting with the 2021 Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie on Disney+.
Plot
The Heffleys dine at a restaurant called Corny's, where Susan announces the family plan for a road trip to attend Meemaw's 90th birthday party, much to Rodrick and Greg's dismay. Greg is then sent to rescue Manny from inside a tube in the play area but ends up in the ball pit with a diaper stuck to his hand and freaking out. He subsequently becomes famous when the footage is posted on the Internet, becoming and creating an embarrassing meme called "Diaper Hands". Later, Greg learns that the Player Expo is taking place not far from Meemaw's house in Indianapolis and his favorite Internet star, Mac Digby, will be attending, so he plans to sneak off from the road trip and go there. As soon as the road trip starts, everyone's phones are confiscated by Susan, so she can ensure the trip is "absolutely technology-free".
That night, at a motel, Greg secretly gets his phone from the car. Later, while he and Rodrick are relaxing in the hot tub, Rodrick uncovers his plans to go to the Player Expo, but Greg convinces him not to tell Susan, and opts to go with him. Later that night, Greg investigates a loud noise: a couple of kids repeatedly slamming a wheeled cart into a wall, belonging to a family which he dubs "the Beardos" due to their father's beard. Scolding them for making a racket, he threatens to have them thrown out. Their father comes out, and nearly gets hit by the cart his daughter rolls at Greg, but it misses him and damages their van. She blames Greg, telling her father that he also called him a "Fat Beardo", causing him to plot revenge.
On the road, Manny wins a piglet at a fair. Mr. Beardo, who is also there with his family, sees Greg and pursues him. The next day, a work call and the piglet's craziness lead to the Heffleys nearly crashing their car on a bridge, and they donate the piglet to a petting zoo much to Manny's sadness while Greg reroutes the GPS to the Player Expo. In the hotel room, Rodrick and Greg leave a note telling Frank and Susan that they are buying a gift for Meemaw, but they sneak out to the Player Expo. Thinking they are missing, Susan calls the police but gets them herself after seeing them on TV.
Seeing Mac Digby in a video game competition, Greg asks Rodrick to record him on the stage behind him, but he accidentally knocks out the power to Mac's screen. Susan arrives and accidentally reveals that Greg is "Diaper Hands", humiliating him in the process. She opens up saying all she wanted was a nice road trip to bring them closer together and accuses him of not caring. Fed up with her being so controlling, Greg calls her out on her hypocrisy and naivety, to which she relents, and gives Greg his cell phone back. Back on the road, the tarp on their motorboat blows open and their belongings fly out. The Beardos then show up and begin stealing them as "payback".