DVD--Ramona and Beezus

or: Being a kid again

One word to sum it up: Sweet

Jeez, how long has it been since we've had a good live action family film? Well, since the world seems to love shoving tales with little innocence and happiness down our throats, not many. But along comes Ramona and Beezus, an adaption of the popular book by Beverly Cleary. For once, a family movie with a great deal of fantasy seems perfectly realistic, as it seems to get into the mindset of our nine year old heroine: Ramona Quimby.

The plot is very straightfoward: Ramona and Beezus focusses on the misadventures of nine year old girl Ramona (Joey King) and the trouble she causes for her family. It also takes a look at her relationship with her sister Beezus (Selena Gomez), her Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin) and her father who is newly jobless, which slowly tears a hole in her family.

Ramona and Beezus just seems a little different than the other family films. You either see kids having magic powers or a really depressing family to make them stand out from the others, but Ramona is more wrapped up in her whimsical fantasies and incidentally causing trouble for everyone else, which makes her more special than everyone else. While her antics get a little repetitive towards the end, it's always fun to watch her as it reminds one of how cool it is to be young and seemingly unaffected by the outside world. It's also good to have someone as likeable as young Joey King taking the lead role in her small, fragile shoulders.

Many Disney stragglers will go for this since it has Selena Gomez from 'Wizards of Waverly Place' in it. Surprisingly, unlike Miley Cyrus, Gomez makes a good transition from TV to the bigger screen without becoming too dependent on her pre-determined stardom. And thank goodness she isn't annoying. Well known actors like Josh Duhamel, Ginnifer Goodwin, Bridget Moynahan, Sandra Oh and John Corbett round out an excellent cast which give this a little more goodness than it should have any right to have. Ramona and Beezus is far more enjoyable than it should have been, and would make a sweet movie to watch with any girl under 12...there's enough for the adults to enjoy.

THE VERDICT: Sweet, family fun.

What I hoped for:

What I got: