Ramona and Beezus

The makers of last weekend's horrendous Standing Ovation should take note of this weekend's Ramona and Beezus. This is how you make a childrens' film that speaks directly to kids and "tweens", without talking down to them, and allow accompanying adults to get enjoyment out of it as well. It also shows how to make a sweet and wholesome movie, without making it sappy and stupid. This is a smart, funny, imaginative, and sweet little film that took me by surprise.

The trailers certainly didn't fill me with confidence. Sure, it looked harmless and inoffensive enough, but it also looked like the movie would suffer from a very forced whimsical tone. Fortunately, the film itself does not. Even though a lot of the rough edges of some of the topics it talks about (like unemployment) have been sanded off to make it not so scary for kids, there is some honesty to be found. But what impressed me the most was the imaginative and sometimes almost rebellious nature of the little title character, Ramona, herself. She's a typical 9-year-old girl with an overactive imagination, a talent for causing trouble when she does not mean to, and, I must admit, a wonderful way at looking at things. Early on, we learn that she still gets scared at night when her imagination runs away with her. But, she tells us, she doesn't mind so much, because being scared makes life more interesting. Now, that is a girl wise beyond her years. I also loved the scene where little Ramona complains that her teacher, the stern but caring Mrs. Meacham (played wonderfully by Sandra Oh), is stifling her creativity by not letting her invent words in class. I was even more delighted to find that the movie basically agrees with her, and never allows Ramona to conform to that silly rule later on.

Of course, children everywhere (and most adults) already know these things about Ramona. They've been reading about her adventures in the books by Beverly Cleary for some 60 years now. In the film, she's played by Joey King, a girl who mostly has been working in TV and voice over work (including a memorably off the wall supporting role in 2008's Horton Hears a Who), and really displays a lot of talent in her first major film role. She's warm, curious, and wonderful. There's not a single false moment in her performance. She's not playing for the camera, like so many child actors. We're drawn to how natural she comes across. The same goes for the entire cast, really. All of the kids come across as real kids, and the adults are not portrayed as brainless dolts who act as manipulations for the plot. As sweet as the film is, there is a little bit of a dark edge that shows itself at times. Ramona's father (John Corbett) loses his job at the beginning of the film. We get some realistic depictions of what results from such a situation (her father can't find a credit card he can still use to pay a tow truck driver when the car breaks down), as well as some funny and imaginative ones, such as when Ramona overhears her parents talking about how the bank might take away their house (she imagines men from the bank coming along with a giant crane, and literally ripping the house out of the ground).

Director Elizabeth Allen (Aquamarine) knows when to use fantasy, when to use sentimentality, and when to use reality in her film, and that makes all the difference. It also knows how to juggle the film's various plots, without fumbling them. The key plot is the father losing his job, but there's also subplots about other members of the family, such as Ramona's older sister Beatrice (Disney Channel star Selena Gomez) having her first relationship with a local boy, Henry Huggins (Hutch Dano). Ramona and Beatrice have their own problems together, since they drive each other crazy, as sisters often do. It started when Ramona was just learning to talk, and would call her sister "Beezus" - an unfortunate nickname that has stuck over the years. There's also a sweet subplot concerning the girls' kindly Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin) rekindling a relationship with an old flame from her high school days (Josh Duhamel), who has just moved in next door. All of these plots, and the emotions and sometimes ugliness that they bring, are dealt with in a mature manner. The movie even briefly touches upon loss, when Ramona's beloved cat, Picky-Picky, dies in its sleep.

Less you think the movie is a downer or takes itself too seriously, it's not. The film has a light and airy quality to it that never seems forced or becomes overwhelming. It's a constant tightrope act, and I was waiting for the movie to fall into extreme manipulations. It never did, much to my relief. Yeah, the ending is way too tidy, and solves all the problems much too hastily, but that's not until the last three minutes or so. What's more important to note is how right this movie gets it. This is a smart movie made by smart people. It not only manages to pay respect to the source material, but also to its audience. It does this by giving us characters who don't act like they know they're in a movie for kids. They're not dumbed down, and not acting so goofy that everything goes flying out of control. They're nice people who just happen to be in a very nice and inoffensive movie.

Most critics will note that Ramona and Beezus stands out, because it's the rare kid-centered movie that's not built around special effects or toy marketing. While I certainly agree, I think it stands out for a much more crucial reason - It's genuinely entertaining, and kind of fun. Though the film may get lost in the shuffle of the remaining blockbusters coming out this summer, I can easily see it becoming a favorite to many little girls (and maybe their parents) when it hits DVD.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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