Children’s entertainment is always a risky proposition. Much of it can be rather condescending, uneven and/or a prolonged commercial. Many studios take the lowest-common-denominator approach: create something to kill 80 minutes on a long car trip; a common complaint I have with Dreamworks’ animation. Then there’s the opposite dilemma, bring something to life the parents hold dear from their collective upbringings but it hasn’t been in the public consciousness for decades (Madeline, Babar), thus it bores today’s kids and irritates the adults because the lead character says a swear word.
What puzzles me is that the Judy Moody series has only been around for 11 years so what motivated anyone to roll the dice on bringing this character to the big screen. Oh wait, I think I know. Aunt Opal is played by Heather Graham aka Roller Girl from Boogie Nights, thus dads will gladly volunteer to take the yard apes! I’m being unfairly cynical, especially when I was the one who really wanted to see this. Why? The trailer got me hooked as it elicited my childhood memories about Summer plans and the ‘illogical’ parental behavior. Graham as the Hippie-like (an actual Age of Aquarian would be in her sixties) aunt was a no-brainer.
Anyway, the movie…
It’s the last day of school! To make the upcoming Summer vacation eventful, memorable and exciting, Judy has worked out an ambitious plan containing a series of dares a third-grader would find challenging. Shortly after she unveils it to her friends Rocky, Frank and Amy, two have to burst her bubble by revealing the arrangements they already had. What makes it worse is how these blow away Judy’s: circus camp and a trip to Borneo. Pretty tough to beat. Her parents pile on the additional misery by announcing a month-long trip to California (Judy’s grandparents need assistance making the transition to a nursing home). Unfortunately, Judy and her brother Stink will be staying home while Dad’s younger sister Opal watches them. What follows is a rather predictable Summer of discovery, life lessons, hijinks, puke and a hunt to capture Bigfoot and Judy’s third-grade teacher, Mr. Todd played by Urkel.
I couldn’t help but like it. The majority of professional critics didn’t from what I found onRotten Tomatoes. I think they kept their collective guard up by viewing it as adults. They forgot how the story is being told from Judy’s perspective. There’s a good chance the ‘facts’ are a tad distorted in order to tap into the core audience’s sympathies or biases regarding the actions of parents, grown-ups, tattletales, younger siblings and other enemies kids face daily. When you’re in third grade, the world does appear to be working against you unless you happen to be Richie Rich. However, an Aunt Opal is always a welcome ally and people like her let children know that some adults are fun enablers, not spoilers. This is the flick’s heart and soul to me.
I was surprised by the animated sequences. These represent Judy’s imagination taking over. They’re neither bad nor good, just odd in an era when CG-assisted stuff is more routine. Maybe it was a concession to the fans who are accustomed to the heroine’s illustrated form.
Lastly, I have to fess up over what pushed me into liking Judy, beyond Graham looking the part of a goofy relative. If I had a daughter, she’d probably be like Judy Moody: overdramatic, vocal, bossy, loyal (she expects others to share this trait), has a thing for planning and…here’s the kicker…wears various colors of Chucks! She just wouldn’t have red hair, it doesn’t run in my family despite there being an Irish faction.
Worth Seeing? In theaters, probably not and millions agreed. It’s currently at discount joints, how else did we see it a month after its release. As a rental or via cable/streaming, then I would endorse giving it a view with or without the childerbeasts (my friend Jeff’s name for his two sons).