Raspberry Magic

An 11-year-old girl embarks on a horticultural experiment that mirrors her home life in this domestic drama. Monica's (Lily Javaherpour) family is already having financial problems when her father, Manoj (Ravi Kapoor), loses his job. With tension in his marriage and a leak in the kitchen, Manoj is so stressed out that he hides the truth of his dismissal from his wife, Nandini (Meera Simhan), a cookbook author. Shortly after Nandini finds out, the family suffers a second blow: Nandini is dropped by her publisher. While Manoj leaves home to sort things out, Monica—who shares her father's interest in science—notices that raspberry bushes are dying out in their Oakland neighborhood, so she grows plants in hydroponic terrariums, where she discovers that touch therapy accelerates the growth process. With a friend's help, Monica plans to compete against Zachary, a robot inventor, at the science fair, but after she moves her experiment outside, the blooms refuse to grow, so she seeks advice from custodian Mr. Hooper (James Morrison), who has had better luck. With Manoj away and Nandini in a funk, Monica also has to keep an eye on her younger sister. When Nandini meets up with a new publisher, the girls suspect she may be having an affair. Things finally come to a head at the fair where the fractured family learns to put individual pride aside for the greater good. Unfortunately, the finale feels rushed, putting a damper on director Leena Pendharkar's otherwise engaging YA story. A strong optional purchase. (K. Fennessy)