“Dear Dumb Diary” – Sure To Charm Your School-Aged Kids
Based on the best selling series “Dear Dumb Diary” by Jim Benton, this made for TV movie airs September 6 on the Hallmark Channel. “You might think it is a girl’s movie but I enjoyed it and so did my twelve year old brother,” comments KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Adam C, age 8. Adam’s full review follows along with Jailene’s video review. Check them out!
Dear Dumb Diary
Video Review by Jailene A. here.
Reviewed by Adam C., Age 8, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic
Video review available here.
If you enjoy comedy mixed with great musical numbers then you will love “Dear Dumb Diary.” “Dear Dumb Diary” is about a girl named Jamie Kelly who attends Mackeral Middle School and dreams of being popular and of having the boy of her dreams, Hudson, love her. She writes all of her secrets and dreams in her diary. She is jealous of a beautiful girl named Angeline who she feels gets more attention from Hudson than Jamie feels she deserves.
My favorite character in the movie is Jamie Kelly (Emily Alyn Lind). She is easy to relate to as most teenagers have insecurities and lots of dreams of how their life could be better. Jamie keeps her room really messy and only cleans it when she wants to find her missing diary. She is funny and has a great sense of humor. Emily is a very talented girl and does a wonderful job of acting, singing and dancing in this movie.
The musical numbers in “Dear Dumb Diary” are well choreographed and very entertaining. They add a great deal to the movie because it keeps the viewer’s attention and adds an extra dimension to this already excellent movie.
My favorite part of the movie is actually a musical number. It is the musical number where Jamie sings that there are too many beautiful people in the world and they need to leave to give the ordinary people a chance to shine. The ordinary people put all of the beautiful people on a small yellow school bus and send them away.
The film has many positive messages that can apply to all age ranges. The first is “do not judge a book by its cover.” Angeline, who Jamie feels is mean in the movie because she is so beautiful, actually covers for her and returns her diary without reading a single word of it. Jamie, even though she wants to shine and be the winner in the Jump-A-Thon, helps Angeline who doesn’t know how to jump.
Jamie and her best friend Isabella do this because Angeline has many sponsors and will enable the school to hire the art teacher back and provide many extracurricular activities for the school. Isabella and Jamie show maturity in putting the greater good of the school before their own personal glory. Jamie’s best friend Isabella collects for a fake charity so she can get money to buy herself contacts. In the end, Jamie and Isabella start a charity that helps less fortunate children to get glasses. Throughout the movie, Jamie is learning the lesson that inner beauty is very important.
I give this movie five out of five stars. It’s a great family movie appropriate for ages 7 to 18. You might think it is a girl’s movie but I enjoyed it and so did my twelve year old brother. I feel the music and dancing help this movie appeal to a wider audience range. It is airing on the Hallmark Channel on September 6 and will also be available for purchase at Wal-Mart on September 10.
