Ramona y Beezus

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".

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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.

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.

Ramona Quimby (Joey King) lives in a typical middle class neighborhood on the west coast. Her family consists of Father Robert (John Corbett), Mother Dorothy (Bridget Moynahan), big Sister Beatrice, er, Beezus (Selena Gomez) and a new baby sister. Also close to the Quimbys is their mother's sibling, Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin). Unlike Beezus, who is an excellent student and very mature for a budding teenager, Ramona struggles at school, especially with her no-nonsense teacher (Sandra Oh). The instructor doesn't have much patience with Ramona's penchant to coin new words, among other issues. Life at the house, also, takes a strange turn, when in the middle of home-remodeling project, Dad loses his job. Soon, Mom is working part time at her old job and Pop becomes the lunch packer and house-husband, while sending out a large amount of resumes. Aunt Bea's life, too, receives a curveball when old flame, Hobart (Josh Duhamel) moves back to his original home next to the Quimbys. Happily recovered from the long ago heartbreak of Hobart's abandonment, Bea is startled to find him lavishing attention on her once again. What's a girl to do? Beezus has love trouble, too, when a relationship with longtime pal, Henry Huggins, may turn into a romance. Ramona continues to weather storms, such as the day an egg breaks on her head, minutes ahead of the school pictures! But, biggest problem of all is the fact that they may have to move, if Dad doesn't find a job in town. What will the future bring for the Quimbys? This is very fine family flick, with plenty of humor and energy without any objectionable material. In fact, it is a shining example of how successful a movie can be without sex or bad language. Then, too, the actors do a great job, with King leading the way. What a wholesome and realistic young actress she is! Gomez, too, is a winning and lovely young thespian while Corbett, Moynahan, Oh, Goodwin, Duhamel and all of the others are lively, all-too-human and flat-out fun. The west coast setting is lovely, as are the costumes, script and all other film amenities while the direction is secure and confident. All in all, this film is one every family should have on hand, for repeated viewings, I predict, will never grow old.

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.

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.