Family Filmgoer
Watching With Kids in Mind

By Jane Horwitz
Friday, March 7, 2008

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (PG-13, 101 minutes)

High schoolers who like literate romantic comedies with a continental flair (a la some of PBS's more arch Masterpiece Theatre episodes) 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, it is the story of a repressed middle-aged governess, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (wonderful Frances McDormand). 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. Along the way, Miss Pettigrew has a makeover herself and meets a nice man (Ciaran Hinds).

The movie is full of sexual innuendo, but it's never raunchy. There's smoking, drinking and rare profanity. There is a distinct anti-promiscuity theme and a subtly feminist tone.

ALSO PLAYING
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 Penelope, who has inherited a pig nose that can be dispelled only 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. An edgier PG, "Penelope" includes a brief, stylized suicide scene in the prologue. There is drinking, smoking, mild sexual innuendo and semi-crude language.

PG-13s

"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. 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, non-graphic but still erotic way. 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. There are bombings, shootings, harrowing car chases and a child in mortal danger. Too much terror-related violence and intensity for many middle schoolers.

"Be Kind Rewind." In this comic gem from writer-director Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," R, 2004), Mos Def clerks at a struggling video rental store in depressed Passaic, N.J. When his boss (Danny Glover) leaves him in charge, disaster strikes: His eccentric pal (Jack Black) accidentally erases every tape in the store. Desperate, the guys grab a video camera and try to make cheapo 20-minute versions of the lost movies. It has middling profanity, sexual innuendo and toilet humor. For teens who like their comedy silly but smart.

"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. The film contains mild fighting, implied drinking, a few suggestive dance moves, verbal sexual innuendo and rare mild profanity. Okay 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. Okay for most teens.

R's

"The Bank Job." Rich with atmosphere, the film based on the famous 1971 London bank vault burglary 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 scandalous photos of the royals amid the cash and jewels. Soon the clandestine services and local thugs are after them. The R rating is for violence, nudity, strong profanity and crude humor. Though never explicit, this is not appropriate fare for most teens younger than 17.

"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 team, is determined that his hapless team will survive after the ABA gets swallowed by the NBA. "Semi-Pro" is full of crude sexual slang and humor, strong profanity, an explicit sexual situation, drinking and smoking. Preferably no one younger than 17.