Ramona And Beezus

There are times when you know the exact kind of movie that you need to see. I had the choice tonight between '30 Days of Night 2 - Dark Days' or the one I eventually chose. I was a little disappointed that 'Ramona and Beezus' was vampire-free but that disappointment was tempered by the utter charm and sweetness of this family tale.

Of course my main interest was seeing Ms. Selena Gomez knock it out of the park (which she did) but the true enjoyment came from the performance of newcomer Joey King. She is such a natural actor and force of nature and plays the character without all the acting tics that you would expect from today's child stars.


I wish I had a little sister like that. Mine was a terror who fought non-stop with me for dominance at the top of the sibling food chain.

When writer Beverly Cleary's 'Ramona' character was last on TV she was played by a precocious Sarah Polley. That was how long ago I have missed this world. That TV program has a great message about family and so does the big screen version.

The story introduces some heavy adult issues such as unemployment, the danger of losing the family home, and marital strife. However, seen through the eyes of a child you always feel safe and you know that by the end, everything is going to work out fine. It's really about the trials and joys of being a kid and how family is really the greatest thing in the world.

There are times when we get a look into Ramona's mind and experience the rich fantasy life that she has. Thankfully those scenes don't dominate the movie. I could see the desire to include killer robots in these fantasy sequences to appease any boys who got dragged to this with their families.

Ramona is so normal. She does silly things, pukes in class, makes mistakes and lets life events affect her as they are suppose too. She is a pest to the older sister she adores. However, all it takes is one sad moment and they are both back to looking out for each other.


John Corbert is very good as the Dad.

I laughed and I cried (more than once I am embarrassed to say) and appreciated a movie that didn't talk to either me or it's pre-teen target audience. You can see the future potential of the two leads and I would say that even if I was not extremely biased. It was great to see a movie that didn't have talking animals or needed to be in 3-D or had a fast food restaurant toy tie in.

I bought myself a copy and if I watch it a lot don't judge me. I enjoyed it that much. I would gladly add this to my weekly watch list if it was a TV series. The world these characters inhabit never should go out of style.