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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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XXY
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Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
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97
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
92
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
90
Persepolis
87
Up the Yangtze
87
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Savages, The
83
Paranoid Park
83
U2 3D
82
Chop Shop
82
Taxi to the Dark Side
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
75
Young@Heart
74
Stuff and Dough
74
Witnesses, The
74
Shotgun Stories
74
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Life of Reilly, The
72
Priceless
71
Redbelt
71
Blindsight
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
70
Caramel
69
Chicago 10
68
Roman de gare
68
Honeydripper
67
Snow Angels
67
Praying with Lior
67
Jellyfish
67
Standard Operating Procedure
67
Mister Lonely
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
66
George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead
66
Shelter
65
Married Life
64
Water Lilies
63
Son of Rambow
63
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
63
Body of War
63
Blind Mountain
62
Planet B-Boy
61
Girls Rock!
60
Dhamma Brothers, The
59
Under the Same Moon
58
First Saturday in May, The
58
Hats Off
58
Bra Boys
57
Flawless
57
Teeth
57
Without the King
57
Grand, The
56
Then She Found Me
55
Pathology
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
52
My Blueberry Nights
50
Look
49
Dark Matter
48
Run, Fat Boy, Run
48
Penelope
48
Anamorph
47
Bella
47
Boarding Gate
46
CJ7
45
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?
45
Zombie Strippers
44
Chaos Theory
41
Funny Games
40
Sleepwalking
37
Life Before Her Eyes, The
35
Deal
32
Backseat
32
Chapter 27
30
Cover
24
Sex and Death 101
20
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
17
Prom Night
xx
Tashan
xx
Favor, The
xx
XXY
xx
Fugitive Pieces
xx
Plumm Summer, A
xx
Kiss the Bride
xx
Meet Bill
xx
Jack and Jill vs. the World
xx
From Within
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Focus Features
|
|
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some partial nudity and innuendo
Starring
Frances McDormand,
Amy Adams,
Ciaran Hinds,
Shirley Henderson,
and
Lee Pace
In 1939 London, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew is a middle-aged governess who finds herself once again unfairly dismissed from her job. Without so much as severance pay, Miss Pettigrew realizes that she must--for the first time in two decades--seize the day. This she does, by intercepting an employment assignment outside of her comfort level--as "social secretary." Arriving at a penthouse apartment for the interview, Miss Pettigrew is catapulted into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse. Within minutes, Miss Pettigrew finds herself swept into a heady high-society milieu--and, within hours, living it up. Taking the "social secretary" designation to heart, she tries to help her new friend Delysia navigate a love life and career, both of which are complicated by the three men in Delysia's orbit: devoted pianist Michael, intimidating nightclub owner Nick, and impressionable junior impresario Phil. Miss Pettigrew herself is blushingly drawn to the gallant Joe, a successful designer who is tenuously engaged to haughty fashion maven Edythe, the one person who senses that the new "social secretary" may be out of her element and schemes to undermine her.
During the next 24 hours, Guinevere and Delysia will empower one another to discover their romantic destinies. (Focus Features)
GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
Drama
|
WRITTEN BY: |
David Magee
Simon Beaufoy
|
DIRECTED BY: |
Bharat Nalluri
|
RELEASE DATE: |
Theatrical: March 7, 2008
|
RUNNING TIME: |
92 minutes, Color |
ORIGIN: |
UK |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein
Frothy and exuberantly entertaining - in part because of the sexual innuendoes - it's the best romantic comedy so far this year.
88
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Adams shines brightly, reinforcing the image she projected in Junebug and enhanced in Enchanted and Charlie Wilson's War. At this time of the year, it's tough to find a more diverting way to spend 90 minutes in a multiplex.
83
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
Based on the 1938 novel by Winifred Watson, it's a deluxe romance that most of the time plays like farce.
83
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
It's an unusual and engaging romantic comedy because it's mostly about how these women ready each other for real love.
80
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
Watching McDormand navigate that transformation is the kind of thing that can keep your hope in movies, and in actors, alive.
80
The Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt
Sustains itself through terrific forward momentum and two glorious star turns by gifted actresses Frances McDormand and Amy Adams.
75
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
Style is a tricky, elusive thing, and this film doesn?t so much have it as strive for it, constantly. But something in Watson?s story endures: The wish-fulfillment truly satisfies. And with the war clouds gathering by story?s end, the fairy tale acquires a bittersweet edge, nicely cutting all that whipped cream.
75
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Looks and sounds great, and is at its best when it isn't trying too hard to have fun.
75
USA Today
Claudia Puig
A good farce is hard to find. Particularly one that holds up for the entirety of the story and keeps us engrossed, while smiling. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a particularly effective and cheeky example.
75
Miami Herald
Connie Ogle
The only thing missing from this winsome, madcap throwback set in London on the eve of World War II is an actual Brit in the title role.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
A jubilee for McDormand and jolly good fun for most everyone else.
70
Film Threat
Matthew Sorrento
Plays like a breeze and ends before we know it. In the current state of cinema, all we can hope for is one like this per year.
70
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
Bharat Nalluri directs with a light touch and a great eye for costumes and sets, which are gorgeous enough to make up for any contrivances in the plot. It's pure romantic fantasy, and you won't believe it for a minute. But it's fun to watch Miss Pettigrew and Miss Lafosse live for a couple of hours.
70
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
The film's flaws are nothing compared with the pleasures it offers, chiefly in its unapologetic pursuit of old-fashioned sweetness and romance.
70
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
How light is this movie? So buoyant that even an air raid warning, signaling that this whole world is about to crumble under the blitz, can?t dampen its giddy spirits.
70
Variety
Todd McCarthy
McDormand's performance slowly builds a solid integrity, and contrasts well with Adams' more flamboyant turn.
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
The film is lovely to look at -- so overflowing with lavish furniture, jewelry and interiors that it's almost like a visit to Paris' Mus�e des Arts D�coratifs. If you're a fan of such things, "Pettigrew" is worth seeing solely for its sets.
63
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
It's left to the ideally cast McDormand to keep everything on track and, as expected, she weathers every tonal change with competence, confidence and a perfectly stiff upper lip.
58
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Adams, of course, is a peach. Her sparkle requires only minor character adjustment and twinkle recharging from her recent triumph as the old-fashioned modern heroine in "Enchanted."
58
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
In trying to recapture the spirit of classic '30s screwball comedies, the film too often mistakes manic energy for wit, and it ends on a note of gloppy sentimentality that wouldn't have held water in Old Hollywood.
50
Premiere
Glenn Kenny
Although McDormand's performance is consistently focused -- one would expect no less from the actress -- the movie itself can't settle on whether Miss Pettigrew is Mary Poppins minus the sugar spoonful or just plain Carrie Nation.
50
Village Voice
Ella Taylor
What makes Watson's novel a delight is its guilelessly homoerotic subtext. By downplaying that, the movie argues the case for Watson's innocent sensuality--and against its own worldly update.
50
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
This was shot at the legendary Ealing Studios, but I hesitate to call it a British comedy: its two stars are American, it currently has no UK release date, and its innocuous naughtiness seems pitched at grandmothers who watch BBC America.
50
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
I adore Frances McDor mand, but she's seriously miscast in a title role Emma Thompson could play in her sleep.
50
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
The comedic success of this pair of dramatic archetypes, the radiant flibbertigibbet and the gray, lumpen elder spinster, in a lightweight bit of piffle such as this is a testament to both Adams' and McDormand's smarts. It's tough to play dumb when you're not and even more difficult to dial down your own innate brilliance.
50
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
It's polished-looking, yet dull.
40
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
At least Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day has the good grace to go wrong quickly, you don't have to sit there squirming with doubt.
The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
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