Ramona and Beezus (2010) 
 
 In “Ramona and Beezus,” based on the Beverly Cleary children’s books about a pair of mismatched sisters growing up in Portland, Ore., the focus is on the hyperactive grade schooler Ramona (Joey King) rather than the introspective teenager Beezus (Selena Gomez of “Wizards of Waverly Place” ). Having made that decision, the filmmakers, including the director Elizabeth Allen and the screenwriters Laurie Craig and Nick Pustay, appear to have made another: to put their energy into the frequent, Nickelodeon-style scenes of mayhem and gross-out caused by Ramona’s rambunctiousness — involving paint, peanut butter, fire, water and so forth — rather than the somewhat glum connective tissue of family drama and romance. 
 
 Children may appreciate that choice, though they (and their parents) might not be so happy with the hour-and-three-quarters running time. 
 
 Adults can appreciate the presence of Ginnifer Goodwin, as charming as always as the girls’ Aunt Bea, and Sandra Oh as Ramona’s glowering teacher. The cast also includes John Corbett and Bridget Moynahan as the parents, an oddly cast Josh Duhamel as Aunt Bea’s man-child love interest, and Hutch Dano as Henry Huggins, whose interest in Beezus may come as a shock to Cleary fans. 
 
 Parents may also be happy to see a movie for children that doesn’t involve wizards, vampires or action figures that can be bought in the food court. They should be warned, though, that the price of contemporary realism is a story that includes layoffs, bickering and unpaid bills. 
 
 RAMONA AND BEEZUS 
 
 Opens on Friday nationwide. 
 
 Directed by Elizabeth Allen; written by Laurie Craig and Nick Pustay, based on the novels by Beverly Cleary; director of photography, John Bailey; edited by Jane Moran; music by Mark Mothersbaugh; production designer, Brent Thomas; produced by Denise Di Novi and Alison Greenspan; released by Fox 2000 Pictures and Walden Media. Running time: 1 hour 44 minutes. This film is rated G. 
 
 WITH: Joey King (Ramona Quimby), Selena Gomez (Beezus Quimby), John Corbett (Robert Quimby), Bridget Moynahan (Dorothy Quimby), Ginnifer Goodwin (Aunt Bea), Josh Duhamel (Hobart), Hutch Dano (Henry Huggins) and Sandra Oh (Mrs. Meacham). ||||| Like the beloved Beverly Cleary books that inspired it, this captivating film shows what the world looks like from the perspective of a scrappy 9-year-old who is neither as fearless as she thinks nor as hopeless as others peg her. 
 
 If Ramona, the spirited third grader at the center of Ramona and Beezus, gave a one-word review of the movie about her love/hate relationship with her big sister, Beatrice, she would say it was terrifical. 
 
 Like the beloved Beverly Cleary books that inspired it, Elizabeth Allen's captivating film shows what the world looks like from the perspective of a scrappy 9-year-old who is neither as fearless as she thinks nor as hopeless as others peg her. 
 
 Ramona and Beezus is not for girls only. It boasts a daddy/daughter plotline that is very touching. 
 
 Set in contemporary Portland, Ore., but also in the timeless universe of family dynamics, R and B is blessed with young actresses who resemble actual kids and not motormouth moppets on TV sitcoms. 
 
 Beezus Quimby is perpetually irritated that Ramona steals her sunshine. Ramona is perpetually annoyed that she can't escape her sister's long shadow. 
 
 As Beezus, Selena Gomez (the Harriet Potterish teen on Disney's Wizards of Waverly Place) nicely plays an anxious high schooler, a straight-A student exasperated by Ramona's hyperactive imagination. Ramona (Joey King, refreshingly natural) feels bad because everything Beezus does is right and everything she does is wrong. Can this sisterhood be saved? 
 
 Their sibling rivalry takes a back burner to bigger family issues. When Dad (John Corbett) gets downsized and Mom (Bridget Moynahan) can get only part-time work, the sisters have to pull together despite the stuff that divides them. Will they lose the house? And have to move? 
 
 Director Allen, whose previous film was the uninspired mermaid saga Aquamarine, tells the Quimbys' story gracefully. She elicits remarkably honest performances from her younger stars. 
 
 Ramona finds support in her sympathetic aunt (Ginnifer Goodwin), herself a younger sister who has grown up in the shadow of an older sibling. 
 
 The overall tone of the film is sunny, with Ramona and Beezus resiliently turning life's lemons into lemonade. Dad may lose his job - but he finds his vocation. Ramona and Beezus may resent their differences, but learn to treasure them - not as flaws, but as strengths. ||||| It’s so sentimental and sweet that you can almost forgive the kids’ comedy Ramona and Beezus for not being nearly funny enough. 
 
 This adaptation of author Beverly Cleary’s beloved 1950s novels about “Ramona the Pest,” her sister Beatrice (Beezus, to her) and her life in the same world that Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy inhabit emphasizes childhood conflicts, confusion and emotions over slapstick – no great sin. But the movie takes too long to settle on that tone and blows more than a few laughs along the way. 
 
 Ramona (Joey King, cute as a button) shares a room with the sister she’s always called Beezus (Selena Gomez, well cast). Beezus isn’t shy about mocking her sister’s fears – monsters under the bed, for instance. The nine year-old’s got a vivid imagination. Hanging from a swing, she sees a vast canyon below. But she’s undaunted. 
 
 “It’s good to scare yourself once in a while” is her motto. 
 
 Contractors building an addition to her house are a cause for celebration, school projects are opportunities to show off, problems between mom and dad can be smoothed over if she just takes over the cooking. 
 
 Peopling Ramona’s world are her droll, seemingly humorless teacher (Sandra Oh – spot on), her parents (John Corbett, trying too hard, and Bridget Moynahan) and her favorite Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin of Big Love and Walk the Line). But Aunt Bea’s old beau, played by the effortlessly charming Josh Duhamel, is back. Ramona worries she’ll be “reeled back in, like a bass.” 
 
 That possible romance takes center stage for much of the movie, suggesting that director Elizabeth Allen (Aquamarine) was a lot more at home with the mushy stuff than with a little girl’s antics. First love between Beezus and Henry Huggins also earns more screen time than is warranted in a movie with Ramona’s name first in the title, especially since they changed the title of the source novel from Beezus and Ramona. There are more laughs in the average episode of Gomez’s Wizards of Waverly Place TV show than in this. 
 
 But like other near-misses in the recent toddler-to-tyke-to-tween cinema (Kit Kittredge comes to mind), this one gamely wrestles with topical “growing up” matters – unemployment, life-altering decisions. Allen gives the movie heart and heft even if she never quite develops a taste or a grasp of the funny stuff. 
 
 See for Yourself 
 
 ‘Ramona and Beezus’ 
 
 Cast: Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Ginnifer Goodwin, Sandra Oh, Josh Duhamel 
 
 Director: Elizabeth Allen 
 
 Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes 
 
 Industry rating: G.
– Ramona and Beezus plays fast and loose with its source material, the classic children's books by Beverly Cleary, but the family movie—Disney tween favorite Selena Gomez's film debut—generally has the critics on its side. Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: "The overall tone of the film is sunny, with Ramona and Beezus resiliently turning life's lemons into lemonade." The flick also "boasts a daddy/daughter plotline that is very touching." Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: "Frankly feels like three or four installments of a low-budget "Ramona" TV series stitched together. But it does have some modest charm—mostly due to the strong child performance at its center." Mike Hale, New York Times: "Parents may be happy to see a movie for children that doesn’t involve wizards, vampires or action figures that can be bought in the food court." Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: "Emphasizes childhood conflicts, confusion and emotions over slapstick—no great sin. But the movie takes too long to settle on that tone." For more on Gomez, who has a rep for being "the next Miley Cyrus"—without the revealing photos and onstage antics—click here.