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"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" (PG-13, 1 hr., 41 min.)
High-schoolers who like literate romantic comedies with a continental flair (a la some of PBS' more arch Masterpiece Theatre episodes imported from Britain) ought to get a kick out of this confection, based on a 1938 novel by Winifred Watson. The film teeters on the edge of too-cute, but it works, thanks to a fine cast, a touch of high-theatrical style and clockwork timing.
Set in late 1930s London as World War II looms, it is the story of a repressed middle-aged governess, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (wonderful Frances McDormand doing a creditable British accent). She gets fired and finds herself penniless and on the street. Rejected as too "difficult" to place by her employment agency, she steals the card of one of their clients and applies on her own. The client in search of a social secretary turns out to be a dithery young actress, Miss Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). She is juggling affairs with three men and pretending she doesn't love the poor pianist (Lee Pace of TV's "Pushing Daisies") who wants to marry her. Instead she favors the rich producer's son (Tom Payne) who might get her the lead in a show. Delysia hires Miss Pettigrew, who spends the next 24 hours helping the young lady untangle her life, while navigating the backbiting ways of the high-fashion and nightclub set. Along the way, Miss Pettigrew has a makeover herself and meets a nice man (Ciaran Hinds) with whom she shares sad memories of World War I and a romantic attraction.
The movie is full of sexual innuendo, most of it frisky but never raunchy or explicit, and there is implied nudity. Characters smoke and drink, get into brief fisticuffs and use rare profanity. Despite the naughtier aspects of the story, there is a distinct anti-promiscuity theme and a subtly feminist tone, celebrating women who make their own way in the world.
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BEYOND THE RATINGS GAME
-- OK FOR KIDS 10 AND OLDER:
"Penelope" PG -- This zingy modern-day fairy tale lets a fine cast loose on a clever mix of physical comedy, verbal wit and a touch of magic. "Penelope" should charm kids 10 and older, as well as adults. It makes for a nice parable about self-love, too. Christina Ricci plays the title role, the latest descendent of an aristocratic family to inherit a curse -- a pig nose that can only be dispelled by the kiss of an upper-crust suitor. She has long lived hidden from the world. Her mom (droll Catherine O'Hara) brings in potential husbands, but they run away screaming. A sly reporter (Peter Dinklage) hires a broke, blue-blooded (yet sweet) gambler (James McAvoy) to woo Penelope. Reese Witherspoon is fun as Penelope's first real-world friend. An edgier PG, "Penelope" includes a brief, stylized suicide scene in the prologue -- someone jumping off a cliff. The "pig nose" is a rather dainty snout -- just nonhuman enough to make the story work. There is drinking, smoking, mild sexual innuendo and semi-crude language.
"The Spiderwick Chronicles" PG -- The idea of kids visiting fairy realms is neat, but this film only captures some of the magic. It may be too intense for kids under 10 because it lacks sufficient humor to balance out the scary bits. The magical creatures are mostly slobbering goblins, ogres, and trolls, all trying to kill the likable child protagonists, while the beautiful sprites and sylphs don't hover long enough to lighten the mood. Young Jared (Freddie Highmore), a boy with anger issues, moves with his twin brother Simon (Highmore), his teen sister (Sarah Bolger) and their mom (Mary-Louise Parker) into an old house inherited from an ancestor, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn in flashback). Jared discovers Spiderwick's "Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You," opens it and unleashes a dangerous magical fourth dimension. There are chases, swordplay, and a bird-eating hobgoblin (Seth Rogen) who spits in the kids' eyes so they can see the fairy world. The kids get gashes in their arms, and we see lots of green goblin blood. There is a divorce theme.
-- PG-13s OF VARYING INTENSITY:
"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" (NEW) -- High-schoolers who like romantic comedies with a continental flair ought to get a kick out of this confection, based on a 1938 novel by Winifred Watson. The film teeters on the edge of too-cute, but mostly, it works. Set in late 1930s London as World War II looms, it is the story of a dowdy middle-aged governess, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (wonderful Frances McDormand in a good British accent), who gets fired and finds herself homeless. Rejected by her employment agency, she steals the address of one of their clients and goes on her own. She finds a dithery young actress, Miss Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), trying to juggle affairs with three men and in need of a social secretary. Miss Pettigrew spends the next 24 hours helping Miss Lafosse untangle her love life while navigating the backbiting high-society world. Along the way, Miss Pettigrew acquires a little glamour and romance herself. The movie has much sexual innuendo, most of it frisky but not raunchy or explicit. There is also implied nudity. Characters smoke and drink, throw punches and use rare profanity. The film has an anti-promiscuity theme and a feminist tone honoring women who make their own way in the world.
"The Other Boleyn Girl" -- Part epic, part bodice-ripper, this lushly designed film does a decent job of working in factoids about King Henry VIII's reign, but don't let high-schoolers who see it for the romance think it is accurate on that level, too. The film imagines how a conniving Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and her naive sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson) compete to seduce the randy young king (Eric Bana) to elevate their social-climbing family. The film shows no explicit sexual situations, yet it includes a strongly implied rape and depicts consensual encounters in a stylized, nongraphic, but still erotic way. It includes frank, but nonexplicit talk of sex and out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and strongly depicts births and miscarriages with a hint of blood but nothing graphic. There is also an incest theme. Of the inevitable beheadings, we never see blade meet neck, but there is an unmistakable sound. Not for middle schoolers.
"Vantage Point" -- A neat little thriller with a clever conceit, "Vantage Point" doesn't hold up under picky plot analysis, but it works. Dennis Quaid plays a tense Secret Service agent assigned to protect the U.S. president (William Hurt), who is in Spain to sign a peace accord. During the public ceremony there is an assassination attempt, then a terror attack. "Vantage Point" keeps doubling back to tell the story from different angles, each time revealing a bit more as the agent chases the perpetrators. Forest Whitaker is fun as a tourist who witnesses the event. There are bombings, including a suicide bomber, shootings, harrowing car chases and a child in mortal danger. The depiction of wounds and corpses is never graphic. The script contains a few midrange swear words. Too much terror-related violence and intensity for many middle-schoolers.
"Definitely, Maybe" -- "Definitely, Maybe" is -- eureka! -- a smart, engaging, unsappy romantic comedy viewed through the smart prism of a young man's banged-up idealism. Ryan Reynolds plays a soon-to-be divorced New Yorker whose young daughter (Abigail Breslin) begs him to tell her about the three women he has loved, but to change their names, so she can guess which one became her mother. He recounts in flashbacks how he left a girl (Elizabeth Banks) at the University of Wisconsin in 1992 to work for Bill Clinton's campaign, met a cute, sarcastic campaign employee (Isla Fisher) and a journalist (Rachel Weisz). There is clinical sexual language (spoken by a child after a sex-ed class), depressing news clips about Bill Clinton's sex scandals, other mild sexual innuendo, implied overnight trysts, midrange profanity, smoking and drinking. OK fare for most teens.
"Step Up 2 the Streets" -- This sequel to the 2006 film "Step Up" (PG-13) suffers from a cliched script and dance sequences that only sometimes catch fire. Briana Evigan plays Andie, a defiant, motherless teen who step dances with a street crew in Baltimore. Warned to shape up, she enrolls in an arts high school, but finds the ballet discipline tough. Then she meets the school's star dancer (Robert Hoffman). Along with the class nerd (Adam G. Sevani), they start a team to go against Andie's old street crew in a competition. Some characters are fun, but the film feels inert and African-American roles are inexcusably stereotyped. The film contains mild fighting, implied drinking, a few suggestive dance moves, verbal sexual innuendo, and rare mild profanity. OK for most teens.
"Jumper" -- Perhaps it's intended as a new kind of superhero saga, but "Jumper" is a mess, its intriguing moral and sci-fi themes muddled by narrative incoherence and jarring special effects. Hayden Christensen plays David, who discovers as a teen (played by Max Thieriot in a prologue) that he can "teleport" himself out of a near-drowning. He uses his powers to escape an unhappy life (hints of an alcoholic parent), jumping the space-time continuum to the Pyramids or Paris in the blink of an eye. He raids bank vaults and grows into a rich, selfish man (Christensen). A cult leader (Samuel L. Jackson) who believes teleporters are evil gets on his trail and "Jumper" turns into a dreary chase flick. A stabbing is bloodless but intense. Other violence is nongraphic. There is a pre-sexual situation with kissing and shedding of outer garments, other mild innuendo, mild profanity, drinking and toilet humor. OK for most teens.
-- R's:
"The Bank Job" (NEW) -- Inspired by a famous 1971 London bank vault burglary, "The Bank Job" blends fact and fantasy to argue that news coverage of the break-in was stifled by Her Majesty's government because scandalous photos of prominent royals and government personages were found in the safe deposit boxes. Rich with atmosphere, the film is smart, quick and wry, though occasionally hard to follow as the twisting narrative unfolds. Jason Statham plays Terry, a blue-collar Londoner drawn into the gig by a fashion model (Saffron Burrows) from his old neighborhood. Terry realizes something's up as soon as he and his pals tunnel into the vault and see the photos amid the cash and jewels. Soon the clandestine services and local thugs are after them. The R rating reflects scenes of implied torture, a gun murder, scantily clad, occasionally topless women depicted as prostitutes, nongraphic sexual situations -- including in a brothel and porn film -- strong profanity, smoking, drinking, drug references and crude humor. Though never explicit, this is not appropriate fare for most under-17s.
"Semi-Pro" -- This is one Will Ferrell sports comedy that starts with engine trouble and then just dies.
"Semi-Pro" is a tedious, unfunny farce set in 1976. Jackie Moon (Ferrell), the buffoonish owner of an American Basketball Association (ABA) team in Flint, Mich., is determined that his hapless team will survive after the ABA gets swallowed by the NBA. In comedy as in sports, if your timing is off, you're in trouble, and the silliness just misses here. "Semi-Pro" is full of crude sexual slang and humor, strong profanity, an explicit sexual situation, voyeurism, an infidelity theme, drug and toilet humor, drinking and smoking. Preferably no one under 17.
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