Ramona and Beezus

I was expecting a poor movie but my friend and I both thoroughly enjoyed the film. The storyline of the misunderstood kid has been done before and this as it is designed does tug at my heartstrings. Joey King is a natural and plays her role very well easily gaining my sympathy.I liked the role Sierra McCormic played. When I watch this kind of film I don't feel comfortable with an overly aggressive villain. The relationship between Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Spevack was feel good but for an adult viewer it may make the movie a tad too feel good. Into every life a little rain must fall. All in all the cast did a good job pulling together a familiar plot. The special effects worked well. It was easy to relate to the drawn out magic that a child feels when having fun. Lauri Craig's direction showed no flaws, the movie flowed smoothly. I would have liked a bit more time devoted to the commercial contest to see how it fit into the story.

The books come home to Hollywood,

This movie may be one of those "ya I have seen that some time may be!" films, but it has its own little beautiful moments that helps it into the collection. A great one for teenagers and kids.

And yes, you want some quality family time on weekends go ahead with this movie.

A good "feel good" movie. With a smallish story, and a realistic world. With some Good old days' charm that enchants.

Acting overall was decent. Joey King as a matter of fact acted better than Selena Gomez, who had a considerably smaller role.

Finally it is such a movie that would not be judged on its plot or screen play and performance. It would be something you would just watch for fun.

6.7/10

My wife and I watched this movie at home on DVD from our public library. After I saw Joey King in a teenage role on the TV series "Fargo" I looked up this older movie to see how she was at a younger time. The impact of this movie depends totally on her performance and she really is superb, one of the best child performances I have seen.

The family, which includes three daughters, lives in Portland in a middle class neighborhood. Joey King has the main role of Ramona Quimby, the 9-yr-old middle daughter. Selena Gomez is good as her teenage sister, with the nickname of Beezus because as a toddler Ramona pronounced her name that way and it stuck.

Ramona is a bright, energetic girl who often fails "to color inside the lines" in various aspects of growing up, including school where she routinely gets into bits of trouble. But deep down she is a pearl with a big heart and it eventually shines through.

All the cast are good, there are several other stories going on, including dad getting laid off when a larger company bought the company he worked for, resulting in the possibility the family may need to move to eastern Oregon.

We enjoyed the movie, it was very refreshing to watch a movie with no sex, no violence, and the worst language was when young Ramona was upset, she yelled "guts" over and over.

This movie, based on the books (already this will eliminate 90% of the movie-going audience) by Beverly Cleary, has no explosions, no talking dogs, no cutesy kids who sass their parents and display a maturity rivaling most 30 year olds nor a child with preternatural smarts who ends up preventing nuclear war etc. What it does have is a smart mom, a cool dad, a disaffected teenage sister, a baby, a cool auntie and some normal children. It's a story about a family who struggle with unemployment, job dissatisfaction, marital discord, self esteem, and bad sprinklers, as seen through the eyes of a nine year old girl whose idea of a bad word is "guts".

Still with me?

If you enjoy movies like Iron Giant and quality children's entertainment-you will LOVE this movie. Sadly, the people who complain the loudest about the film industry and the shallow values they encompass will probably miss this one-don't be among them. Take everybody. When I attended, everyone in the audience was clapping and crying at the end of the film , children and adults alike. Yes, it's a "little film"-meaning there are no blue aliens, no 3d stun shots, no cartoon characters passing off moral pablum as deep though. What it is a sweet story about real people. I wish there had been more people of color in the film, but I'll settle for some fantastic actors and a lovely message. See it and tell all your friends.

Ramona and Beezus on the whole was a charming movie. Many kids I know (myself included) loved the Ramona books because she was active, she did things, and things happened because of her. Ramona in the movie had the dramatic flair I always associated with the Ramona of my imagination.

The movie was well cast and everyone seemed to fit their character well. That being said, it was a little wordy in places -- Ramona was a do-er not a big-conversation-er! Some of the superfluous talking should have been removed to add in more of Ramona's adventures and take on day to day life.

We loved that Ramona's idea of a really bad word was "guts"! As a parent I'm grateful that was the only "bad" word in the movie! I'm glad my kids saw it, I'm glad we saw it.