Review of Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (2011) by Winstonoboogie — 08 Jul 2011

Cute kids' comedy plays like a more girl-centric version of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, as plucky young Judy Moody (Jordana Beatty) sees her big plans for summer break go down the drain when her two best friends wind up going out of town for the summer.

Things look up when, inspired and aided by her free-spirited Aunt Opal (Heather Graham), Judy comes up with a wacky list of dares and adventures to be undertaken by both her and her faraway friends. Nothing hugely original here, but Beatty (an Australian actress doing a flawless American accent) is appealing, Graham is tremendously sexy and loveable, and in one of the more surprising bits of casting this summer, Jaleel White - yes, I'm talking iconic TV nerd Steve Urkel - is genuinely charming as Judy's teacher.

I know the reviews are crummy and the Megacritic scores reflect that, but I'd take this over Mr. Popper's Penguins or (God help me) Transformers: Dark Of The Moon any day.