A New Form of Torture

I haven't read a single Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. I have not seen a single Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. Up until today, I largely slotted it in the "maybe someday" category, with the full understanding it isn't a piece of entertainment created for me. But I really hope this trailer for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is even a soul-crushing disappointment for the biggest and most die-hard fans of this franchise. This can't be an example of what this series offers, right? This looks like a trailer to a movie that is designed to be played in interrogation rooms across the continent in order to beat out a confession from a perp. It is torture without any visible bruising. But there will be deep emotional scars that can never heal after seeing this trailer. This makes last year's Vacation look like the feel-good thrill ride of the summer.

One big questions that is nagging me about this trailer, why would they use Spice Girls' "Wannabe"? The target audience was born more than a decade after it was a hot song, and there can't be a single adult that wants to sit through this movie. Who is that song appealing to in this flick? Wouldn't it have made more sense to use Katy Perry or Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga?