GUEST COLUMN: A Movie Review of "Ron's Gone Wrong"

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A Movie Review of Ron's Gone Wrong

by Lewis Robinson

If you're looking for a movie that's light-hearted and funny, then Ron's Gone Wrong is definitely worth watching. This comical movie was written by Peter Baynham and directed by Sarah Smith and Jean-Philippe Vine and produced by Julie Lockhart and Lara Breay. The storyline revolves around a schoolboy named Barney who receives a robot named Ron as a gift. However, things start to go wrong when Ron starts to malfunction, drawing the attention of a shady executive. Despite a few sad undertones, the movie is overall very comedic and enjoyable.

The Plot

In the movie Ron's Gone Wrong, a tech giant named Bubble unveils their latest creation: the solution selling friendship B-bot. These robots are designed to help make friends, using Marc Weidell's friendship algorithm installed in every one of them. However, one middle schooler named Barney Pudowski does not own a B-bot. His former childhood friends, Savannah, Rich, Noah, and Ava, have all become absorbed by their individual B-bots.

Eventually, Barney gets a B-bot as a late birthday present. However, he quickly learns that it is defective and glitchy. The bot repeatedly says offensive things and makes bad decisions that get Barney into trouble. He doesn't want to upset his father by returning it, so he takes it back to the Bubble store himself.

As it turns out, all the B-bots have these glitches because of a bug in the friendship algorithm. If one person downloads a bot's code, they can unlock its hidden functions, including the ability to turn off safety features.

The Problem

Rich finds out about this and starts to cause trouble with his own B-bot. The bots run wild, and Savannah becomes publicly humiliated. Ultimately Barney is held responsible for the giant disaster at school with the wild B-bots and is suspended. The Bubble company pursues his bot, Ron, in order to destroy him, so Ron and Barney run away together.

Barney tries to keep Ron safe because he views the quirky B-bot as his one true friend, but it isn't long before Barney realizes they can't stay out in the woods forever. Ron will need to charge, and Barney has a scary asthma attack that could take his life.

Ron does his best to get help for his friend, Barney, and in the end, Rich, Savanah, Noah, and Ava work together to help find Barney. Unfortunately, Ron is confiscated. As Barney wakes up in a hospital bed, he sees the original inventor of B-bots, Marc. Marc always wanted his B-bots to be more about making real friendships and connections and never meant for their programming to turn into what it was today. Marc hands Barney a "fixed" Ron in hopes of helping ease his pain.

The Ending

Barney doesn't want anything to do with the fixed version of Ron since it no longer acts and thinks like Ron and is missing all the quirky things that Barney grew to love about his B-bot. Marc wants to help Barney but informs him the company is no longer in his control. They hatch a plan for Barney to get into Bubble headquarters and find Ron's programming.

Seeing that Bubble has direct access to everyone's B-bot and realizing that everyone is just as lonely as he was, Barney suggests upgrading all the B-bots to have Ron's flaws. However, this means that Ron will be dispersed.

In the end, all of the kids get their own upgraded bots with Ron's code, and they are finally able to connect on a real level. In a turn of events, Marc is able to get his position back with Bubble company by blackmailing Andrew with a recording of him using the B-bots to spy.

A few months down the road, you see Barney and his friends connecting on a real level. His friend's B-bots are no longer a tool to keep them from communicating, and although Barney doesn't have his own B-bot any longer, he seems happy and integrated with real people. The movie ends, showing Ron's face on the Bubble tower smiling, leaving you feeling with a sense of happiness and as though Ron is still there looking out for Barney.

If you're looking for something light and fun, then check out Ron's Gone Wrong. You won't regret it.