Highly Overrated But Still Good

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This is probably up there with The Garbage Pail Kids Movie or the Animated Titanics as being some of the worst family entertainment I have ever seen. To be clear, the only reason why I watched this is because I got this on a five pack DVD of movies and I wanted to see all of the movies on there.Okay so the story, Judy Moody is an annoying third grader who wants her friends to have the best summer of their lives by doing these "dares" and adding up points. When it's revealed that the friends are going to places like Borneo and Circus Camp Judy decides to compete for "best summer ever". Meanwhile her parents are helping her grandparents move house in California instead of, I don't know - taking your kids along too they instead leave them there and have them being taken care of by her Aunt (Heather Graham) who I swear is whatever the hell Tom Hanks was in Big.So this movie in short is a bunch of eight year olds running around doing whatever they want while "oh so hilarious hijinx" ensues and having no responsible adult figure whatsoever. I'm not kidding Heather Graham's character is the kind who would accidentally feed them animal feces... That's not a bad joke by the way - That happens in this movie.There's this subplot in the movie about the kids finding their teacher in their summer break... Um it's been a long time since I was their age but wouldn't they be trying to get away from the teacher and just have a summer break than trying to find him? I mean it would make more sense.Then there are these CGI animated segments which is probably some of the cheapest CG animation you will ever see in a movie, These people are this generation's Hanna Barberra. They also serve no purpose aside from just showing what Judy is thinking, it still would be pointless because it pretty much tells us a few seconds after these sequences are over.The sound mixing is probably some of the most obnoxious I have ever heard. There are constant points in the movie where they just have unneeded sound effects. They add nothing and just annoy more than anything else. The camera work is almost insistent on close-ups. I mean there are a lot of them in this movie.And there's the character of Judy herself, funny how I only remember to write this now. She is so obsessed with "Thrill Points" that it takes up half of her dialogue. This leads her and the only friend that didn't go anywhere to argue then mope and... Do we really need this? A couple of scenes later you'll know they thought they were idiots for screwing up and then they become friends again and... It's as predictable as "Will the moon spin around the Earth?".You know what would have made this movie a lot better? If they changed the game to some kind of Bucket List and through that they find out that the perfect summer was already there. I know it's clichéd but it's better than what we got. The moral of this movie is "A gaming system to have a thrilling summer will never backfire, it just might change a little bit". That's all I can say on this movie, my advice is if you want your kids to stay quiet for 80 minutes... Put on something else that takes 80 minutes.

As you probably know, this film isn't very good. There are stereotypes, the plot and dialogue are basic at best, but worst of all it is almost interminably boring. The characters are vacuums for charisma and personality, with the exception of perhaps the little brother who plays the hyperactive annoying little boy role with alarming credibility. The whole 'thrill points' storyline wasn't fun or interesting.The production department is the only one that comes out with any credit here: the bright, bold and colorful art direction injects the film with an energy and immediacy it hitherto would have lacked. The whole movie maintains this look, including the costumes and even the ice lollies - it is easily the most identifiable thing here.Otherwise, there simply isn't enough in Judy Moody to keep a viewer of any age engrossed; if a film can't hold your attention it really has nothing. Aside from the promising first ten minutes this was a letdown.

Sometimes things like the economy, gas prices, apocalypse theories, and local news reports can get you down. If you need a pick-me-up, sometimes it helps to see a kid's or family movie. The vision of reckless adventures and colorfully spirited humor can give a person a nostalgic view of the past. Yeah, that works with some kid's movies. This one, on the other hand, made the gas prices look like nothing. Not only were there serious problems with the title, poster, character names and personalities, and overall conflicts of the storyline; but the movie itself sucked too. Anyone who says that the audience wasn't massive enough, or that this movie didn't get enough credit, is horribly wrong. I saw this film with my nephew, who is 8, and he gave up and left the theater after about 30 minutes. And kids love going to the movies. He spent the remaining hour of the film walking around the movie theater lobby eating popcorn. Bottom line, This is definitely the worst theatrically released film of the summer. No questions asked. The writers of this film deserve every poor review and every lost cent. I don't personally believe in 2012, but after seeing this movie, I'm starting to seriously reconsider.

Nine-year-old, Makai Weber Colvin, a KIDS FIRST youth film critic reviewed the new "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer" movie and couldn't have been more glowing in her comments: I liked this movie because it has a lot of fun and action in it. The super-silly mix of animation and live action, is the perfect way to tell this story, it makes you feel like you're actually there having fun with the characters. Jordana Beatty plays the part of Judy Moody, a young girl with a really wild imagination. When her summer plans get turned upside down, Judy starts a "Thrill Contest" with her three best friends. Unfortunately, all Judy's thrills get spoiled, until she joins her brother Stink on the hunt for Big Foot, who's been seen around their town. I really liked Aunt Opal, played by Heather Graham, because she's like a kid in a grown-up body. She makes every scene exciting. Judy's teacher, Mr. Todd, (Jaleel White), is every kid's dream – he's charming and makes learning a joyful adventure. If your summer is getting boring, or if you want to make it even more fun, check out "Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer" when it comes to a theater near you. I suggest this movie for kids of all ages and even most parents will like it. I give it five-out-of-five stars. Catch Judy Moody to make your summer a "Not Bummer."