Movie Review: Ramona and Beezus

Nine year old Ramona, in the Fox/Walden adaptation of Beverly Cleary's classic novel Ramona and Beezus, could not be more of a middle sister.   Her teenage sister Beezus (Disney Channel star Selena Gomez) is pretty, smart, and way more put together than Ramona. Her baby sister is cuter and more charming than Ramona can hope to be.  She's even cute when she smashes food on her hair. What's a middle sister to do?.

Birth order is not the only plague that Ramona faces.  When dad (John Corbett) loses his job "crunching numbers," the family is thrown into turmoil. Everyone pitches in to lighten the load as mom (Bridget Moynahan) goes back to work. As hard as she tries, all of Ramona's efforts to help end in disaster. Her inability to "color in the lines" gets her in trouble at home, school, and everywhere in between.

Luckily, her faithful Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin) remembers the feelings of being a younger sister and will be there for Ramona. Or will she? Will some sweet-talking hunk take her away?

The delightful film bridges these classic issues with humor and affection for its characters.  Casting the perfect Ramona must have been a daunting task. It's not easy to match the imaginations of generations of girls who grew up on the books.  Luckily, Joey King is impish, creative, sparky, and brings just the right mix of trouble and heart to the role. One of the reigning princesses of the Disney Channel, Gomez will be familiar to fans of "The Wizards of Waverly Place." She acquits herself well in this role, which isn't particularly edgy, but ranges from tormenting sister to loving sister with a bit of growing teen thrown in.

Corbett plays the father as a loving mix of fun and worry. The only difficult casting is supermodel Moynahan as Ramona's mother. She acts fine, but her thin model looks make her scenes feel more like a commercial-perfect world than a real family.

I haven't read the books in adulthood, although they remain a distant, hazy memory of fun and feelings. However, Jill Joiner recently reviewed the classic book, which also includes a free way to read it before you head out to the theater.  Parents will love that there’s no objectionable content -- other than cranky Ramona's threatening to say a "very bad word" -- which turns out to be "guts." (The film is rated "G.")

The plot, because it revolves around the loss of a job and fears of losing a house, feels very timely. As their parents worry and argue in muffled conversations through walls, the tension invades Ramona's childlike imagination. It's a scary world out there, especially when the pillars of a child's life - mom and dad - are struggling. However, it's just in this difficult time when the strength of a solid and happy family shines the brightest.

The core of the story, however, is the ever-changing relationship between sisters. At each other's necks one moment, but thick as thieves the next, the film captures the loving torment that is sibling-hood. They may want to kill each other sometimes, but when the outside world becomes threatening… they have each other's backs.

Romantic love stories abound in film, and love stories between parents and children are also common. However, films exploring the life-long complex love of siblings come around less frequently. Beverly Cleary was an expert at bringing it to life. Thankfully, "Ramona and Beezus" does her work justice.

Note: Micheal Flaherty, the president of Walden Media, is affiliated with SixSeeds, but was not involved in this review.