[Garry Marshall] piles on the cornball touches with the sledgehammer effect of a bad sitcom director.
Raising Helen (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:6
Rotten:28
Average Rating:4.7/10
Consensus: As shallow and formulaic as a sitcom.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for thematic issues involving teens
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:May 28, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $37,379,556
Synopsis: In this heartwarming comedy from director Garry Marshall ("Runaway Bride," "The Princess Diaries"), Helen Harris (Academy AwardŽ nominee KATE HUDSON) is living the life she always dreamed of. Her... In this heartwarming comedy from director Garry Marshall ("Runaway Bride," "The Princess Diaries"), Helen Harris (Academy AwardŽ nominee KATE HUDSON) is living the life she always dreamed of. Her career at a top Manhattan modeling agency is on the rise; she spends her days at fashion shows and her nights at the city's hottest clubs. But her carefree lifestyle comes to a screeching halt when one phone call changes everything. Helen soon finds herself responsible for her sister's children 15-year-old Audrey (HAYDEN PANETTIERE), 10-year-old Henry (SPENCER BRESLIN), and 5-year-old Sarah (ABIGAIL BRESLIN). No one doubts that Helen is the coolest aunt in New York, but what does this glamour girl know about raising kids? The fun begins as Helen goes through the transformation from super hip to super mom, but she quickly finds that dancing at 3 a.m. doesn't mix with getting kids to school on time advice that Helen's older sister, Jenny (JOAN CUSACK), is only too quick to dish out. Along the way, Helen finds support in the most unusual place with Dan Parker (JOHN CORBETT), the handsome young pastor and principal of the kids' new school and realizes the choice she has to make is between the life she's always loved and the new loves of her life. -- © Touchstone Pictures [More]
Starring: Kate Hudson, Hayden Panettiere, Abigail Breslin, Spencer Breslin
Starring: Kate Hudson, Hayden Panettiere, Abigail Breslin, Spencer Breslin, Joan Cusack, John Corbett, Helen Mirren, Hector Elizondo
Director: Garry Marshall
Director: Garry Marshall
Screenwriter: Jack Amiel, Michael Begler
Producer: David Hoberman, Ashok Amritraj, Mario Iscovich, Ellen H. Schwartz
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
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Release:
Oct 12, 2004
Reviews for Raising Helen
This ode to the most stifling aspects of family and motherhood make you feel like the hicks have all uprooted themselves and moved into the front office at Touchstone.
Almost nothing about Raising Helen rings very true, other than the camera's crush on Kate Hudson.
Even those who seek the undemanding entertainment of life troubles being bravely dealt with might end up wishing they were given more than just sitcom resolutions.
Far from the worst cookie-cutter film to come off the Hollywood assembly line, merely the latest.
Does its inoffensive comedy bit. It's all professional, predictable, by the numbers.
Can't decide whether it's a romance, a fish-out- of-water flick, a teen-parent conflict story, or a tale of sibling rivalry and reconciliation, and therefore fails at each.
Rest assured, these crises will be resolved, and Helen will be enriched by the experiences. But going through them with her throws more sugar into your system than I can take.
This dry-duct soaper chugs along in the Hollywood netherworld where humor and pathos are in short supply.
By no means a great movie, but it's efficiently watchable, thanks to Marshall's direction and occasionally buoyant thanks to its stars.
Like one of Marshall's less-original sitcom pilots stretched way beyond feature length.
Marshall, who seems to specialize in affability, breaks no new ground and doesn't do much with the old soil he tills.
Constantly warm and sometimes devastatingly real, showing just how hard it can be for a family to replace the early departed.
Boils down every feel-good chick-flick cliche of the last 15 years into a lumpy mass of multiplex comfort food.
Jumps back and forth between airy-fairy romantic comedy and leaden family drama with the alacrity of a manic-depressive.
You are likely to encounter more surprises on the way to the bathroom each morning than you do in this film.
Latest News for Raising Helen
November 17, 2005:
Oh It's Already Been Broughten (Part 3)
A fresh press release from Universal informs us that there will soon be a "Bring It On 3" to enjoy, but also reminds us that, hey yeah, there WAS a direct-to-video... More...
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