Had the Ramona movie been more like this, I might have seen it

Having not read the Judy Moody books prior to seeing the film, and having only skimmed a few of them since, I went into the theater with very low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised that, while definitely kid-oriented, it rather accurately reflected the attitudes and behaviors of a normal third-going-on-fourth grade girl. This movie gets right everything that last years's abominable Ramona and Beezus got wrong.

Having a daughter "Judy's" age, while watching the film I felt at times as if somebody had been following her around and studying her mannerisms and behavior for the past year. What made the viewing experience all the better was how Judy was not a fashion-obsessed, narcissistic pre-teen, nor did she anachronistically wear overalls and dresses, but instead dressed as a girl whose clothing choices reflected function and fun over form (much like my own daughter's). Her passions were having grand adventures and not shrieking at dull-witted pop-turds like Justin Bieber, and who has no interest in "boys", preferring instead a group of friends of both sexes.

While the adventures seem far-fetched at times, and the town a bit Hill Valley circa 1955, I had no trouble suspending my disbelief to get myself over these minor concerns. The soundtrack was moderately obnoxious to my 30-something ears, but I wasn't the targeted audience, so I let it pass.

Pleasantly absent from the movie was a clunky subplot featuring some shoe-horned-in romance between Judy's Aunt Opal (Heather Graham) and Judy's teacher Mr. Todd or Bigfoot enthusiast, Zeke. Judy never exchanged pre-pubescent puppy-love glances with any boys, either.

Overall, despite the "weaker" spots, my daughter and I enjoyed Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer enough that we'd give it an averaged score of 8 out of a possible 10 (I said 6/10; she said 9/10, but I weighted her score higher since she was the target audience).