Movies Zaniness rules “Ramona and Beezus” By CHRISTY LEMIRE Associated Press Little kids and tweens — girls, specifically — will probably eat up “Ramona and Beezus,” or at least be suitably amused by it. They won’t be troubled with things like a lack of plot or narrative momentum. It won’t bother them that a character ’s hair gets awkwardly hacked up after a battle with peanut butter, then appears magically restored to its original length soon afterward. They won’t think twice about the fact that a backyard is covered with gaping, muddy holes after a massive water fight and pipe explosion, then is miraculously landscaped to perfection in a day. S p e a k i n g o f a d a y, t h a t ’ s apparently how long it takes to organize a wedding for dozens of guests, including altering a gown to fit a bride who’s several inches shorter than the woman who walked down the aisle in it the first time. This all sounds like uptight, grown-up nitpicking, probably. But it’s also a reflection of a weakness in storytelling, which is sad given the strength of the source material. “Ramona and Beezus” is based on Beverly Cleary’s beloved children’s books, which have been around for more than 50 years and vividly capture the playfulness and awkwardness of youth. Laurie Craig and Nick Pustay’s script features tales from several of Cleary’s books, and as a result it feels like a series of individual episodes — both madcap and heartrending — rather than a cohesive story with any real drive. Elizabeth Allen, who also directed “Aquamarine,” plays up the antics for maximum wackiness, and they’re amplified by the uncharacteristically jaunty, intrusive score by Mark Mothersbaugh.
Associated Press
In this image released by 20th Century Fox, from left, Bridget Moynahan, John Corbett and Selena Gomez are shown in a scene from, “Ramona and Beezus.” Newcomer Joey King has a likable way about her, though, as the highspirited, accident-prone Ramona Quimby. She’s a natural young actress, and she even gets a chance to show some range in a couple of tearjerker moments. But the repeated fantasy sequences, which depict her imaginative interior world, have an intentionally rough-hewn aesthetic and end up looking more cheesy
than charming. Back in the reality, the movie follows the adventures of the 9-yearold, her teenage sister, Beezus (Disney star Selena Gomez), baby Roberta, dad Robert (John Corbett) and mom Dorothy (Bridget Moynahan). Ramona’s Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin) seemingly has no job because she’s around constantly to lend the sweet-but-clumsy middle
child support. This is also a good thing, though, because Bea’s subplot with next-door neighbor Hobart (Josh Duhamel) is probably the most intriguing aspect of the movie — at least for anyone over the age of 12. Bea and Hobart were highschool sweethearts; 15 years later, he wants her to accompany him to Alaska. Goodwin and Duhamel (who co-starred in “Win a Date With
Tad Hamilton!”) are extremely cute together and have tons of chemistry — but most of their moments are upended by Ramona’s silliness. She ruins Hobart’s car by spilling paint all over it in a rainbow of colors. She nearly burns down the kitchen trying to make dinner. She can’t even do show-and-tell right in class (Sandra Oh has some deadpan zingers as her strict teacher).
Children’s movie is this week’s highlight By ROBERT GRUBAUGH Of The Edge Angelina Jolie loves her reputation as an action movie queen. I know she does. Tomb Raider, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Wanted, and now Salt. They all add up to make her this generation’s answer to Sigourney Weaver or Linda Hamilton. And we love her for it. She does her own stunts, which is not commonplace for an A-List star of her caliber (remember, she has an Oscar) or a mother of six. Salt aims to be more, though, than just another amped up spy movie. It wears its Hitchcockian roots like a heart on a sleeve, as Angie has to save her good name and solve the mystery herself as a wrong woman accused in a dastardly plot. I suppose one could compare it to North by Northwest, just with better special effects and without the charming sarcasm of Cary Grant. Then again, who would want that? Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, an agent for the
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CIA who has done everything her country has ever asked for her, including spending months in a Korean prison, being tortured for information she never revealed. When a walk-in confessor (Daniel Olbrychski) accuses her of being a double agent for a dissident group of Russian expatriates, Salt goes on the run to solve an attempted Presidential assassination and put down the dogs who have smeared her reputation. The action sequences are pretty amazing, including a freeway chase that has Jolie l e a p i n g f ro m t h e t o p o f o n e v e h i c l e to another with surprising ease. She is pursued doggedly by agents that believe her story (Liev Schreiber) and those who don’t (Chiwetel Ejiofor), but, by movie’s end, I found this to simply be another very predictable whodunit with terrible makeup (no one would every believe Jolie in disguise as a man), implausible penetrations (the President probably does have a secret underground bunker, but
nobody’s getting in), and other suspensions of disbelief (like waking the dead) that I can’t even get my head around. Salt runs 100 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action. I give this film one star out of four. ••• Were I a naive man, I would expect that simply because Ramona and Beezus was a great movie, many people would be lining up to see it. Aside from girls under the age of six, and their doting mothers, that’s hardly the case. I must confess that my history with the tales of Beverly Cleary is spotty at best. I remember my brother having a brief fascination with a character called Ralph S. Mouse when we were in elementary school, but that’s about it. I’d heard of Ramona Quimby, t h e u b i q u i t o u s re c u r r i n g c h a r a c t e r i n many of Clearly novels, but I had never taken the opportunity to read up on her or to find out what exactly a ‘beezus’ is.
The story centers on the rambunctious, unique Ramona (Joey King) and her o l d e r s i s t e r, B e a t r i c e ( S e l e n a G o m e z ) , who goes by the nickname of Beezus. The Quimby sisters have to survive each other while dealing with their Aunt Bea’s (Ginnifer Goodwin) crazy love life, their infant sister Roberta, and their father ’s ( J o h n C o r b e t t ) re c e n t u n e m p l o y m e n t . They do it carefully (Beezus) and not at all gracefully (Ramona). While Clearly’s story was first published in early 1950s, the material is again very timely and certainly a welcome change for those of us looking for a live-action alternative to the standard summer fare that Hollywood is cooking up this year. Refreshing. Ramona and Beezus runs 104 minutes and is rated G. It is suitable for all audience, though does deal with weighty issues like job loss and the death of loved ones. I give this film three stars out of four.
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