Movie Review, "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day." This is funny stuff. Set in the late 1930s London, a poor woman with constraining morals gets fired from every nanny job she has. She is starving, living on the street, and she has even lost the few belongings she did have. By accident, she ends up as a social secretary for a singing, acting, man-jumping gold digger. Miss Pettigrew learns from the ditzy girl and vice versa.
The first half of the show is very funny and moves quickly. The second half slows down a bit and is darker. I have some quibbles. Why the constant reminders that WWII is about to start? Miss Pettigrew's life is sad enough without worries about bombers. And, the poor woman can't find a way to get a bite of food without spilling it, having it stolen, leaving it to do something else or have a custodian sweep it up. She is so resourceful otherwise.
McDormand is great as Miss Pettigrew and Amy Adams is fine as the ditzy one, but I would have preferred a singer who could actually sing. The leading men are terrific in their roles.
I give it 4 stars and say rent it or download it. |
