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"RAMONA AND BEEZUS"
(2010) (Joey King, Selma Gomez) (G)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Minor Mild Heavy Moderate Minor
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Extreme Minor Moderate None None
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Minor None Heavy Heavy Minor


QUICK TAKE:
Dramedy: A 9-year-old must deal with her overactive imagination regarding developments at school and home, much to the chagrin of her teenage sister.
PLOT:
Ramona Quimby (JOEY KING) is a 9-year-old girl whose overactive imagination often amuses her parents, Robert (JOHN CORBETT) and Dorothy (BRIDGET MOYNAHAN), but also means that she doesn't live up to the personal and school standards set by her "perfect" teenage sister, Beezus (SELENA GOMEZ).

The latter is near constantly irritated by her younger sister (including her nickname that stemmed from Ramona being unable to pronounce Beatrice when she first learned to talk), and Ramona often feels inadequate and inferior compared to Beezus who's developing romantic feeling for her longtime friend, Henry (HUTCH DANO).

While Ramona has a good friend in Howie (JASON SPEVACK), it doesn't help that classmate Susan (SIERRA McCORMICK) is always putting her down or that their teacher, Mrs. Meacham (SANDRA OH), is disappointed in her performance at school. She does get support from her Aunt Bea (GINNIFER GOODWIN), but she's recently been distracted by Howie's uncle, Hobart (JOSH DUHAMEL), her former high school sweetheart who wants to win her back despite him preparing to move to Alaska.

When her dad loses his job and her mom has to go back to work, Ramona's worries intensify, be that her parents will get divorced or that the family will lose their house. As everyone tries to cope with those and other developments, Ramona tries to sort through everything, all while Beezus' constant irritation toward her younger sibling is tempered by her deep-down love for her.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Younger girls probably will, as might those who are fans of the source books and/or anyone who's in the cast.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: G
Presumably for not containing material to warrant a higher rating.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • JOEY KING plays a 9-year-old girl whose overactive imagination means she isn't as successful at school like her older sister to whom she feels inferior and inadequate, feelings not helped by Beezus' irritated remarks or classmate Susan often putting her down. She worries about things both imagined (sounds at night) and real (her dad losing his job, the family possibly having to move, concerns that her parents will get a divorce, etc.), but does find time to be happy.
  • SELENA GOMEZ plays her teenage sister whose irritated contempt for Ramona is just a natural and superficial teen reaction to having a younger sibling who keeps messing things up. Deep down, she truly loves Ramona, and finds herself being romantically attracted to Henry.
  • JOHN CORBETT plays their father who loses his job and becomes a stay-at-home dad in between going to various job interviews. He's fairly laid back and fun to be around for Ramona.
  • BRIDGET MOYNAHAN plays his wife and the girls' mom who has to go back to work after he's laid off. Like her husband, she tries to be as supportive of their kids as possible despite the setbacks the family faces.
  • GINNIFER GOODWIN plays the girls' aunt (Dorothy's sister) who tries to boost Ramona's morale whenever possible, but finds herself distracted by Hobart trying to get back together with her.
  • JOSH DUHAMEL plays her former high school sweetheart, a charming rogue of sorts who's intent on winning her back however he can, although his plans will soon take him to Alaska.
  • JASON SPEVACK plays his nephew and Ramona's best friend and fellow classmate.
  • SIERRA McCORMICK plays Ramona's classmate, the star of a TV commercial who isn't above putting down Ramona whenever she gets the chance.
  • SANDRA OH plays Ramona's supportive but also somewhat sarcastic teacher who must put up with her student's overactive imagination.
  • HUTCH DANO plays Beezus' longtime friend for whom she's now developed romantic feelings and vice-versa.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    Here's a quick look at the content found in this G-rated dramedy. There's no profanity, but some colorful phrases are present, as are a few brief kisses and slight teen cleavage.

    Some slapstick style material is present, as are some bad attitudes and all sorts of behavior that kids might be enticed to imitate. A few scenes might be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers, but probably few others. Tense family material is present, as are some thematic elements, brief alcohol content, and an unrelated vomit scene.

    Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Robert opens a bottle of champagne for Dorothy and himself.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Beezus accidentally swallows a fly in her glass of lemonade and then does a reflexive spit take of all of that onto Henry.
  • Ramona's infant sister spews peas all over Ramona's face when the latter is feeding her.
  • Trying to copy her dad's earlier trick, Ramona cracks an egg over her head, but it turns out not to be hard-boiled and thus the yolk runs down her hair.
  • Ramona vomits (we hear the sound and other students react to that).
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • In defiance, Ramona squeezes and empties a tube of toothpaste into the bathroom sink.
  • While defining the word extraordinary, Susan refers to Ramona as being ordinary. When Ramona talks about the construction hole in her house, Susan says she thinks the hole is in Ramona's head.
  • Beezus is often perturbed with Ramona, and tells her in one case, "You run around like a nut-ball."
  • When Ramona states that her mom lets her dress herself, her classmate Susan sarcastically says they can tell.
  • About her bad school photo, Ramona states she looks like a troll. Beezus agrees that she does.
  • When they get separate bedrooms, Beezus informs Ramona about her room (and referring to Ramona), "This is a no pest zone."
  • Beezus tells Ramona, "You will always be a little pest" and that everything Ramona touches she messes up, including Beezus' love life (prompting Ramona to ask, "You have a love life?").
  • Upset about her house being for sale, Ramona retreats to the attic but ends up falling part of the way through the attic floor/ceiling beneath her, and she dangles there. One boy who was there then laughs that he saw her underwear.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed here may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers but probably no one else.
  • Ramona does the rings in the school playground, but then imagines she's high above a ravine on them (the imagery is cartoon-based and thus not realistic, but some suspenseful music plays on the soundtrack). Back in reality, she ends up hanging upside down by her feet and must be "rescued" by her teacher.
  • Ramona is scared at night in the dark as wind flaps plastic covering a large construction hole in their house. Beezus purposefully plays up that, finished by suddenly thrusting her head down over the edge of her top bunk bed to scare her.
  • Thinking the bank might take their home, Ramona imagines a cartoon claw coming down and grabbing their cartoon house and then lifting it away.
  • Ramona is scared in bed at night and imagines the shadow of a ghoul rise up through her room.
  • Ramona tries cooking, but that results in a fire in a pot (setting off the smoke detector). She then tries putting that out with a broom that then catches on fire with Beezus putting all of that out with a fire extinguisher -- although the music accompanying the scene is more adventurous than suspenseful.
  • Ramona discovers that the old family cat has died (we briefly see the body, although the cat has the look that it could just be sleeping). She's quite upset about that, reports her finding to Beezus, and we then see that the two have buried the cat themselves (we don't see the act), not wanting to add any stress to their mom's life.
  • Upset about her house being for sale, Ramona retreats to the attic but ends up falling part of the way through the attic floor/ceiling beneath her, and she dangles there (played lightly).
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Robert does an exaggerated and goofy dance that he ends with holstering his hands as if they were pistols.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Race you home, mud-ball," "She's not the president of the world," "You butt out," "Guts!" "I'm having a hair crisis," "It's insane," "Another year in hand-me-down heaven," "Doofus," "You are so weird," "My dad's extremely sketchy," "I think the hole's in her head," "We're off to numb our brains," "Genius," "That's just classic," "You run around like a nut-ball," "Back off, Romeo," "You butt out," "I look like a troll," "This is a no pest zone," "Go away, you jerk," "You will always be a little pest," "Terrifical" and "Go on, shake your booty."
  • Robert does an exaggerated and goofy dance that he ends with holstering his hands as if they were pistols.
  • We see that Ramona earlier hid her report card in the freezer (to keep it away from her parents).
  • In defiance, Ramona squeezes and empties a tube of toothpaste into the bathroom sink.
  • Ramona announces that she's going to say a bad word but all she can come up with is "Guts!"
  • Aunt Bea joins Ramona sitting out on a large tree branch.
  • Ramona and Howie take turns jumping through the large construction hole in Ramona's house, including with her dressed in a snorkel and fins, he dressed like a bird, and her then using a sheet to pretend it's a parachute.
  • Ramona is scared at night in the dark as wind flaps plastic covering a large construction hole in their house. Beezus purposefully plays up that, finished by suddenly thrusting her head down over the edge of her top bunk bed to scare her.
  • Robert cracks a hard-boiled egg on his head, blows off the shell, and then throws the egg into his mouth.
  • Ramona rolls Beezus' desk out to the curb on roller skates (to sell lemonade).
  • Henry tells Beezus she has something on her shirt. When she looks where he's pointing, he playfully flips her nose with his finger.
  • Beezus accidentally swallows a fly in her glass of lemonade and then does a reflexive spit take of all of that onto Henry.
  • Ramona and Howie stand on Hobart's jeep as they wash it.
  • While pulling a hose and washing Hobart's jeep, Ramona accidentally pulls a wedge away from the back tire, sending the jeep rolling backwards. It slams into a shed, spilling multi-colored paint all over the vehicle.
  • Ramona's infant sister spews peas all over Ramona's face when the latter is feeding her.
  • Howie uses a rubber band around a spoon to shoot a grape into his own mouth.
  • Trying to copy her dad's earlier trick, Ramona cracks an egg over her head, but it turns out not to be hard-boiled and thus the yolk runs down her hair.
  • We see that Ramona has drawn cartoon faces on her toes to amuse her baby sister.
  • Ramona bounces up and down on her bed.
  • Ramona becomes mesmerized by the back of Susan's hair and thus grabs it.
  • Henry points to Beezus' shirt and adds a button comment, causing her to look down. He then playfully flips her nose with his finger.
  • Needing a tiara for an audition, Ramona fashions one out of various burrs.
  • Ramona presses her nose up against a window for the visual effect of that look.
  • Some water accidentally hits Hobart across the backyard fence, making him think Aunt Bea did that. He then throws a bucket of water onto her, followed by an all-out but playful water "war" between the two families across the fence.
  • Ramona states she's running away from home, packs up her things (with her mom watching, playing along), and then leaves.
  • Robert dances with Ramona at a wedding where she stands on a swivel chair.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • Beezus suddenly thrusts her head down over the edge of her top bunk bed to scare Ramona.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A moderate amount of suspenseful music (played in a comedic setting) occurs in several scenes.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • None -- Ramona announces that she's going to say a bad word but all she can come up with is "Guts!"
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Robert and Dorothy briefly kiss, grossing out Ramona.
  • Beezus tells Ramona, "You will always be a little pest" and that everything Ramona touches she messes up, including Beezus' love life (prompting Ramona to ask, "You have a love life?").
  • Beezus shows a little cleavage.
  • Hobart and Aunt Bea kiss.
  • Upset about her house being for sale, Ramona retreats to the attic but ends up falling part of the way through the attic floor/ceiling beneath her, and she dangles there. One boy who was there then laughs that he saw her underwear.
  • Hobart and Aunt Bea kiss at a wedding.
  • Beezus quickly kisses Henry.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • We hear that Robert lost his job due to his company downsizing, and that Dorothy now has to support the family while he looks for a new job.
  • Beezus is often perturbed with Ramona, and tells her in one case, "You run around like a nut-ball."
  • When they get separate bedrooms, Beezus informs Ramona about her room (and referring to Ramona), "This is a no pest zone."
  • Susan says that her parents split up after one of them lost their job (thus worrying Ramona that will happen to her parents).
  • Beezus and Ramona hear their parents arguing, followed by the slamming of a door and then finding that their dad is going to sleep on the sofa for the night.
  • Robert returns home to tell the family that he got a job, but that they'll have to move to a new home as a result.
  • Ramona states she's running away from home, with Dorothy playing along, making sure Ramona packs the right things (and secretly puts heavy items in her suitcase to make it heavier and thus harder to move). Ramona ends up at the bus station, but doesn't get on the bus and instead is happy to see her family arrive in the car to retrieve her.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Having an overactive imagination.
  • Ramona feeling inferior to her older sister.
  • We hear that Robert lost his job due to his company downsizing, and that Dorothy now has to support the family while he looks for a new job.
  • Thinking the bank might take their home, Ramona imagines a cartoon claw coming down and grabbing their cartoon house and then lifting it away.
  • Susan says that her parents split up after one of them lost their job (thus worrying Ramona that will happen to her parents).
  • Beezus and Ramona hear their parents arguing, followed by the slamming of a door and then finding that their dad is going to sleep on the sofa for the night.
  • Ramona tries cooking, but that results in a fire in a pot (setting off the smoke detector). She then tries putting that out with a broom that then catches on fire with Beezus putting all of that out with a fire extinguisher -- although the music accompanying the scene is more adventurous than suspenseful.
  • Dealing with the death of a family pet.
  • Robert returns home to tell the family that he got a job, but that they'll have to move to a new home as a result.
  • Ramona states she's running away from home, packs up her things (with her mom watching, playing along), and then leaves.
  • VIOLENCE
  • After hanging by her feet from the rings in the school playground, Ramona falls off and lands hard on the ground (but is okay).
  • A young girl on a tricycle hits Ramona and knocks her down in passing (by accident, played for laughs).
  • A young girl on a tricycle accidentally runs over Aunt Bea's foot, sending her falling backwards over a planter.
  • Hobart falls backwards off a porch railing (we don't see the impact and he's fine, played for laughs).



  • Reviewed July 13, 2010 / Posted July 23, 2010

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