Ramona and Beezus (2010)

Ramona Quimby (Joey King) lives in a typical middle class neighborhood on the west coast. Her family consists of Father Robert (John Corbett), Mother Dorothy (Bridget Moynahan), big Sister Beatrice, er, Beezus (Selena Gomez) and a new baby sister. Also close to the Quimbys is their mother's sibling, Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin). Unlike Beezus, who is an excellent student and very mature for a budding teenager, Ramona struggles at school, especially with her no-nonsense teacher (Sandra Oh). The instructor doesn't have much patience with Ramona's penchant to coin new words, among other issues. Life at the house, also, takes a strange turn, when in the middle of home-remodeling project, Dad loses his job. Soon, Mom is working part time at her old job and Pop becomes the lunch packer and house-husband, while sending out a large amount of resumes. Aunt Bea's life, too, receives a curveball when old flame, Hobart (Josh Duhamel) moves back to his original home next to the Quimbys. Happily recovered from the long ago heartbreak of Hobart's abandonment, Bea is startled to find him lavishing attention on her once again. What's a girl to do? Beezus has love trouble, too, when a relationship with longtime pal, Henry Huggins, may turn into a romance. Ramona continues to weather storms, such as the day an egg breaks on her head, minutes ahead of the school pictures! But, biggest problem of all is the fact that they may have to move, if Dad doesn't find a job in town. What will the future bring for the Quimbys? This is very fine family flick, with plenty of humor and energy without any objectionable material. In fact, it is a shining example of how successful a movie can be without sex or bad language. Then, too, the actors do a great job, with King leading the way. What a wholesome and realistic young actress she is! Gomez, too, is a winning and lovely young thespian while Corbett, Moynahan, Oh, Goodwin, Duhamel and all of the others are lively, all-too-human and flat-out fun. The west coast setting is lovely, as are the costumes, script and all other film amenities while the direction is secure and confident. All in all, this film is one every family should have on hand, for repeated viewings, I predict, will never grow old.