Watch Kids' Reviews of
BEVERLY HILLS GHOST

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Murder mystery is not the usual genre for teen films, but this one pretty much hits the nail on the head. It's campiness makes it appealing to tweens and teens and I believe they will get a kick out of this.

Lifestyles of the idle rich can be so vacuous. The intelligence, or lack thereof, portrayed by these Beverly Hills teens is a bit mind-numbing and trivial. These stereotypical, spoiled kids leave you feeling like they need a life altering experience.

Sari, a recent transplant from New Jersey, discovers a ghost in her new Beverly Hills home. The back story of what brought Sari and her family to Beverly Hills is unclear, but Sari is somewhat blackmailed into helping Missy the Ghost find her killer.

Sari's nervous auditioning for a rock band is a quite realistic goal for a teenager looking to fit into the crowd. Her singing voice is quite beautiful, a shocking revelation when compared to the other contenders for lead singer.

This movie's sequence of events is a bit confusing. The clues of the stolen artwork and a mysterious gifted necklace help make this movie fit the genre of murder mystery. The evidence for who murdered Missy does not add up at first. However, a last-minute discovery reveals the murderer.

The production values are quite good, from the visuals to the audio, the locations, costumes, hair and makeup and background music. I especially enjoyed Missy's campy, dark eye makeup which gives her a ghostly, far-away look. The streaks of dark makeup along her cheekbones, neck and chin also give her a somewhat decayed look, appropriate for someone who's died.

My favorite parts of the film are the scenes with the body guard, especially when he sticks his tongue out, wielding a razor blade. He then proceeds to chew the blade up in his mouth (redefining tongue-in-cheek humor).The message of this film is that too much ambition can be dangerous.

I give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 11 to 18. Reviewed by Jeff M. and Julie S., KIDS FIRST! Jurors.

What happens when you cross a choir nerd and a dead fashionista? A makeover from hell, and a Beverly Hills murder mystery going nowhere good. Except maybe the mall... 17 year-old Sari Coogan is a lonely nerd from New Jersey. After a near-death experience that leaves Sari able to see ghosts, her parents take the settlement money from the accident and move to Beverly Hills. Unfortunately for Sari, her new room is haunted by teen heiress Missy Palmer, whose death in the pool the year before was ruled an accident. After Missy goes poltergeist on her, Sari reluctantly agrees to help find her killer - a task that entails a total makeover, complete with painful brow waxing, in order to get close to Missy's cliquey fashionista friends and her boyfriend Aidan's rock band, Deja Vu. After facing a high school gauntlet of band try-outs, snarky socialites, and snobby billionairesses, Sari quickly realizes that almost everyone had a motive to kill Missy. And if she can't figure out WHO killed Missy Palmer - and soon - she just might become the next BEVERLY HILLS GHOST...