Ramona and Beezus *****
Fox 2000 Pictures and Walden Media team up to present the summer family hit of 2010 in Ramona and Beezus. Director Elizabeth Allen, screenplay writers Laurie Craig and Nick Pustay along with a fabulous cast of performers bring to life the adventures of Ramona Quimby. Ramona’s escapades were written over fifty years ago by Beverly Cleary in her series called the Collection of Ramona. One of the stories in the collection deals with the life and times of sisters. The adventure of the siblings Ramona and Beezus is the first film featuring Cleary’s writings and begins with an energetic, accident-prone nine-year-old, Ramona (Joey King) vying for the attention of all the members of her family, especially her older and wiser sister, Beezus (Selena Gomez). Unfortunately, Ramona’s mishaps, though unintentional, seem to forever be a source of contention among the family members making her feel displaced. Cleary’s message comes to fruition with the sensitive guidance and direction of filmmaker Allen, as well as the screenwriters who honor Cleary’s style with vivacious dialogue in order that the cast can give a delightful face to Ramona Quimby and the overactive imagination that dictates her world of dreams.
The nine-year-old Ramona Quimby lives on Klickitat Street where in her every day world there is a new day for adventure and discovery. Her escapades often end in horrific mishaps making her appear to never have a clue for what is right. Beezus Quimby, on the other hand is the perfect teenager who never does anything wrong, similar to coloring perfect and neat inside the lines of her world. Beezus is forever sticking up for her accident-prone little sister because she adores the fact that Ramona works so hard to be true to herself, knowing that it rarely involves conformity. She loves and respects the fact that Ramona is a natural lover of the soul and freely acts upon her heartfelt whims. As the life and times of sisterhood would have it, Ramona ticks teenage sister off, big time, severing daily communication between the two. Ramona has colored outside the lines of her world one too many times making this phase of their sister relationship very messy. It is not until two drastic family situations begin to dominate their world that they engage upon a journey of reconciliation. Never dreaming their expedition could be so much fun or the amazing adventure planned just for sisters would be one to cherish forever and ever.
Karen Pecota
24/7 MOMS official film journalist
Released in local theaters: July 23, 2010
Movie rating: PG
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