Ramona and Beezus is based off the best selling books by Beverly Cleary about a young girl who continuously causes mischief but not on purpose. The film follows Ramona on a quest to raise money to help save their house because her dad just lost her job. At the same time she must deal with her older teenage sister and help her aunt with guy problems.
This film had promise from the books. At least what I know from the books. I don't remember if I actually read them or not. But the idea of the character is an idea that could make a fun movie. This was not that movie. The cast was surprising, including newcomer Joey King as Ramona, but not even the acting can save the film. But on another plus note it promotes the imagination of kids, something that should be nurtured and not completely squandered. And in this case that is how Ramona is a bit odd but is what also what makes her special.
But the rest of the movie is terrible. The film attempts to touch on every theme a young child could possible have to deal with besides death of a family member. Family job loss, divorce, marriage, loneliness, bullying, etc. There are far too many themes explored for one movie. And it was far to reminiscent of another horrible film this year, Diary of A Wimpy Kid. But Ramona still flies higher, primarily because the characters are likable. Though there is another level that feels like this is just another movie for transferring a Disney pop star out of the pop star. In this case that would be Selena Gomez. Ultimately what could have been a fun popular book turned movie was a haphazard story attempting to encompass too much of life's troubles into a movie that was supposed to be fun.
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