Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2007)
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Reviews Counted: 144
Fresh: 111 | Rotten: 33
Miss Pettigrew is a breezy period comedy carried by the strong performances of Amy Adams and Frances McDormand.
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 9
Miss Pettigrew is a breezy period comedy carried by the strong performances of Amy Adams and Frances McDormand.
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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 80,488
Movie Info
A late-'30s-era London governess hired to work in the home of a high-profile nightclub chanteuse gets a taste of the good life when she is assigned the task of sorting out the singer's many unseemly affairs in a period comedy starring Frances McDormand and adapted from the novel by Winifred Watson. Unfairly and unceremoniously dismissed from her latest position without so much as a penny of severance pay, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (McDormand) realizes that in order to stay financially afloat
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Cast
-
Frances McDormand
Miss Guinevere Pettigre... -
Amy Adams
Delysia Lafosse -
Lee Pace
Michael -
Ciarán Hinds
Joe -
Shirley Henderson
Edythe -
Tom Payne
Phil -
Mark Strong
Nick -
Clare Clifford
Margery -
Sarah Kants
Annabel Darlington -
Christina Cole
Charlotte Warren -
Stephanie Cole
Miss Holt -
Beatie Edney
Mrs. Brummegan -
Matthew Ryan
Gerry -
Mo Zainal
Lenny -
Katy Murphy
Miss Holt's Assistant -
Sally Leonard
Woman at Train Station -
Tim Potter
Nightclub Patron -
David Alexander
Chestnut Seller
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All Critics (146) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (111) | Rotten (33) | DVD (1)
Adams is adorable as the wide-eyed would-be starlet, with McDormand spot-on as the sensible half of the odd couple. A delightfully frivolous screwball comedy.
Top Critic[Ciaran Hinds is] a terrific character actor, and he actually gets to play somewhat of a romantic lead in the story with Frances McDormand, which I thought was so sweet and gave this film just a little bit of gravity.
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.
Based on the 1938 novel by Winifred Watson, Miss Pettigrew is a veritable treat. Wisely cast, this handsome production is a delightful farcical fairy tale, bolstered by moments of depth and emotion.
You can't criticize a soufflé for not being a side of beef.
If [director] Bharat Nalluri can't always sustain the fizz, it's certainly not Adams's fault; this is another eye-catching performance from the actor, who seems to be specializing in playing dumb.
Fanciful wit to spare, and Adams is sheer delight.
A valentine to a by-gone era; one of the ten best films of 2008
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a well-acted comedy with enough old-fashioned qualities to make it an enjoyable experience for long-standing audiences.
The spectre of impending war hangs heavily in the background of this romantic comedy, giving it a bit more heft.
Period comedies are a tough act to swallow for some, but if you are on the fence at all, please make sure Miss Pettigrew lives for more than just one day."
There's not a lot to it really--no deep underlying message other than an exploration of women's roles in society at the time.
In short, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is fluffy and forgettable, but it's also undeniably entertaining, thanks to pacey direction and delightful performances from McDormand and Adams.
McDormand is left trying for emotional depth in a sea of middling farce and semi-sophisticated comedy.
It's lucky that Amy Adams and Frances McDormand lend their best charms to Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, otherwise this featherweight Art Deco fancy might drift away like a soap bubble, and go 'pop!'
American Lee Pace, from TV's Pushing Daisies, manages not one but several creditable English accents, sometimes unfortunately all in the same sentence, but whose emotional depth shows up this ball of fluff as insubstantial. Forgettable.
The laughs are gentle but regular and all roles are played brilliantly, especially McDormand and the gorgeous Amy Adams as Delysia. Miss Pettigrew is 90 minutes of charming escapism - a perfect movie for mums.
Making a film usually involves a script, a director and a budget. Miss Pettigrew, on the other hand, is so unbelievably frothy, it looks as if it was prepared using merely a bucket of warm water and some soap flakes.
I can't imagine it appealing much to anyone below the age of 70. It offers a stale, rather than nostalgic, whiff of brilliantine and moth-eaten antimacassars.
Stagey fluff, yes, but old romantics will spare a sigh for the fairytale fade-out.
They don't make them like that anymore? Well, no. But Miss Pettigrew makes for a fun, fluffy substitute.
Despite its limitations, I found it impossible to dislike this frail little tale.
McDormand is frankly bland and unresponsive in a role she clearly couldn't care less about; Adams's wide-eyed ingenue routine is on autopilot, and the whole thing looks like a sub-prime American TV movie.
It's a squirming watch, at times quite tortuous because the film can never decide if it's a musical or a play with far too much music.
A gentle period piece that will look more comfortable on the small screen.
Audience Reviews for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
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- Miss Guinevere Pettigrew: Not everything comes along exactly when you want it.
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Movie: ID: 770674707 Title: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Release Date: 2008-03-07 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
- Un gran día para ellas (ES)
Director: Bharat Nalluri
Summary: When her gruff demeanor costs her yet another nanny position, desperate Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) wangles a job as the assistant of an aspiring American actress (Amy Adams) and soon gets swept up in a dizzying world of glamour and high society. Ciarán Hinds, Lee Pace, Shirley Henderson and Mark Strong also star in this charming 1930s-era comedy based on Winifred Watson's best-selling novel.
My Thoughts: "A charming little love story. Shows you how so much can change in just one day. I loved Frances McDormand as Miss Guinevere Pettigrew. She was funny, smart, and true to herself. Amy Adams as Delysia Lafosse was great. She was such a fun bubbly person that definitely needed a little help in the relationship area. Edythe was a spiteful character. I was glad how things ended up for her. The two love stories are cute and in the end will leave a smile on your face."