Sunday, June 12, 2011
Photo Credit: Suzanne Tenner
From left, Opal (Heather Graham) and Judy (Jordana Beatty) in "Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer."
The owners or keepers of 14 million Judy Moody books -- in English, Chinese, Basque, Slovenian and other languages -- can't be wrong, right? Readers love the stories of the fearless girl with the messy mop of red hair with a question-mark curl on top.
They, no doubt, will delight in watching the characters come to look-alike life but anyone not familiar with the series or older than tweens may think "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer" plays like an ABC Family movie.
Its stories about searching for Bigfoot, upchucking at an amusement park and close, gross encounters with animal scat (also known as the "poop picnic") seem like throwbacks to the 1960s. That includes inconsistent or no use of seat belts for adults and children; someone tracking continuity fell down in that department.
- Starring: Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Parris Mosteller.
- Rating: PG, for mild rude humor and lang.
The movie, however, sprinkles some sprightly animation within the live-action story of Judy (Jordana Beatty) who has just finished third grade and is convinced she will have a not-bummer summer.
She has elaborate plans for herself and three best friends and has created an oversize chart tracking dares and thrill points but soon learns one pal is off to Borneo and the other is heading to circus camp. If that weren't disappointing enough, her parents are flying to California for a family emergency and they're not taking Judy.
In typically overdramatic fashion, Judy is stunned that they are leaving her in Virginia to die of "boredom, starvation and Stinkdom," with Stink (Parris Mosteller) being her little Bigfoot-obsessed brother.
Her parents have arranged for Aunt Opal (Heather Graham) to come and stay with the kids, which sets the stage for adventures although not in the way Judy initially imagined.
John Schultz directs a screenplay by former Pittsburgher Megan McDonald, author of the book series, and Kathy Waugh, a creator and writer of children's television shows.
Some of their scenarios work, as when a costumed Judy and Frank (Preston Bailey) go to a scary double feature at the movies, while others, many involving the sunny but kooky Aunt Opal or Bigfoot hunts, seem dated and labored.
However, the movie is blessed with an engaging, energetic young actress in Jordana, an Aussie, who carries this movie as if she'd been doing it all her life. I just wish she had been given a slightly edgier, less bland story.
"Judy Moody" is for all of those parents who wish they had a nice, clean movie they could take their young daughters to -- in theaters or, better yet, the drive-in on a sweet summer's night.
Movie editor Barbara Vancheri: bvancheri@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1632. Read her Mad About the Movies blog at www.post-gazette.com/movies.First published on June 10, 2011 at 12:00 am
Source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11161/1152591-120.stm?cmpid=movievideo.xml
Aubrey ODay Ashlee Simpson Tamala Jones Mia Maestro Alexis Bledel Eliza Dushku Mariah OBrien
0 comments:
Post a Comment