Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

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  August 14, 2009

  lewiskendell

  This was a alright movie. Francis McDormand and Amy Adams play two very different characters who are actually similar in certain ways. And this allows them to help each other make very important changes in their lives over the course of a very frentic day. Adams flies around the ...( read more)sceen at a breathless, breakneck place, while McDormand is somber and earnest as she gets swept up into the bright lights and parties of high society. It's brief and fluffy and not a bad way to spend a bit of your time.

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  April 4, 2009

  JDFortuneFan

  A wonderfully enjoyable romantic comedy... With the enchanting Amy Adams, the quirky Frances McDormand and the distinguished Ciaran Hinds, this cute comedy is delightful and entertaining. The glamorous costuming and dazzling sets just had to the overall enjoyment.

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  January 1, 2009

  EarthlyAlien

  "I am not an expert on love, I am an expert on the lack of love."
  
  Early in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, the title heroine, played marvellously by Frances McDormand, a down-on-her luck "governess of last resort" who keeps getting dismissed by huffy high-class Lon...( read more)don employers, strolls the streets, dejected and down. On the soundtrack? A jazzy, swinging version of the Depression-era song "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" And that sweet-sour mix of bright horns and sad sentiments, swinging tempos and bleak prospects, in many ways sets the tone for the film.
  
  
  
  Adapting Winifred Watson's 1939 novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a nearly perfect piece of entertainment for grown-ups, as Miss Pettigrew's desperation inspires her to fake, fib and flail her way into a job as the social secretary to American actress/singer Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a young woman in severe need of professional assistance and adult supervision. It's fairly easy to predict the rough curves of Miss Pettigrew's plot within moments of meeting the leads - Miss Pettigrew will gain joy and confidence from her exposure to Ms. Lafosse, while Ms. Lafosse will acquire wisdom and character from Miss Pettigrew's example - but the delights of this film are in the details, and everyone involved shapes this seemingly-featherweight entertainment with expert, steady hands.
  
  Miss Pettigrew is not, in fact, a social secretary; however, she's prepared to do whatever is required. And so, in her way, is Delysia; the luxurious flat where she receives Miss Pettigrew is, it turns out, not hers. Delysia is staying there as the lover of nightclub owner Nick (Mark Strong), which makes it all the more necessary that Miss Pettigrew help get Delysia's overnight guest Phil (Tom Payne) - son of the producer of a show Delysia hopes to land the lead in - out the door as swiftly as possible before Nick returns. Miss Pettigrew is mortified, but hardly paralyzed, and she swiftly takes charge of matters. And, in the tradition of British farce, as soon as that crisis is averted, another is ready to take its place.
  
  Directed by Bharat Nalluri (an Indian-born veteran director, virtually unknown outside the B-film and British TV circuits) and adapted for the screen by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty) and Simon Magee (Finding Neverland), Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day might, at first, seem to hew close to the tone and tenor of well-established master-servant comedies of P.G. Wodehouse, where a flighty, frivolous upper-class protagonist's problems are put right by a steadfast, stalwart domestic; Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, for example. And, in fact, at first Miss Pettigrew seems to have Jeeves' deadpan, and Ms. Lafosse has the scattered thoughts and snug nightgowns of a Wodehouse heroine. But in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Beaufoy and Magee do something much more interesting, and much more inspired.
  
  Both our leads are in trouble, and both of them are frantic to escape circumstance. Delysia isn't just juggling Nick and Phil, but also dealing with Michael (Lee Pace), her piano player, whose recent thwarted proposal to her resulted in a champagne-fuelled altercation with the Yeoman of the Guard and 30 days in jail. Miss Pettigrew is not only operating on borrowed credentials at a job that shouldn't be hers, but it turns out that she also witnessed up-and-coming fashionista Edythe Dubarry (Shirley Henderson) canoodling with a man other than her fiancée, lingerie designer Joe (Ciarán Hinds). Avidly seeking stardom, Delysia is eager to be discovered; hoping to avoid disaster, Miss Pettigrew is eager not to be.
  
  And that is the set-up, but that really just provides an arena for McDormand and Adams (and the rest of the supporting cast) to do their stuff. Adams is eager and bright-eyed, like Carole Lombard or another screwball heroine of the film's time; McDormand flips between frantic desperation and struggling to project an image of unperturbed professionalism. Nalluri also understands an often-forgotten principle of comedic construction: For one of your actors to give a scene-stealing performance, there has to be a scene of value for them to steal in the first place. When Nick comes home just after Phil has been ushered out, the combined efforts of Miss Pettigrew and Delysia to hoodwink him are perfectly constructed, as they baffle him with white lies and swiftly arrange excuses and explanations behind his back.
  
  Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day has moments like that, and other moments providing everything you'd like to see in a bright, brassy showbiz '30s farce: Slammed doors and lucky coincidences; whispered imperatives and triple-layered double-talk; the comedy rule of threes; the low behaviour of the upper class; the moral wealth of penniless persons; the public revelations of private feelings. And there's much comedy wrung from the distance between Miss Pettigrew and Delysia: Offering Miss Pettigrew an adult beverage for a quick shot of fortification, Miss Pettigrew explains she's never had a drink. Delysia is quick to clarify: "Oh, it's not a drink, really; it's a cocktail." And so, down the hatch.
  
  But Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day also gets energy and power from being honest about when it is set, and when it was written. Miss Pettigrew walks the line at a soup kitchen for the homeless; newspaper headlines threaten war. And at a cocktail party, as the sky is darkened by bombers and the roar of their engines drowns out the music and laughter, the bright young things in attendance gather on the balcony to cheer. Inside, Miss Pettigrew sits, sad and worried: "They don't remember the last one." "No," Joe commiserates, "they don't."
  
  Moments like that make Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day much more satisfying; we know what's at stake, and so do the characters. And while Adams' giddy, giggling nymph is good for many laughs, she also gets a few richer, deeper moments, too; McDormand also has moments of broad physical comedy (a very rushed clean-up, for example) that she balances with smaller, subtler moments like the play of emotions on her normally stoic face when she realizes things may, in fact, work out for her. Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day may be a fairly small-scale comedy, but it delivers tremendous satisfaction, and that's a victory in and of itself not just for those who made the film but for those who'll see it.

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  October 3, 2008

  her69eyes

  "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" is a perfect example of a film with fairly tedious material completely enhanced with absolute brilliant casting. Whoever's idea it was to pair up the lovable Amy Adams and Frances McDormand should receive all sorts of medals. McDormand, consistent...( read more)ly endearing and perhaps the woman with the best handle on the clueless happy-go-lucky types she's played in "Fargo" and "Burn After Reading", and Adams, who has won over everyone's hearts in everything from "Junebug" to "Enchanted", are charismatic and charming enough to make Ebenezer Scrooge crack a smile.
  
  The film takes place in London in the 1930's - a country shadowed in poverty and unemployment after the war. But, don't get ahead of yourself, this film is far from gloomy. In fact, it's so cheerful it may make you sick. Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is a nanny who has been fired from her agency and finds herself relying on soup kitchens to survive. When she receives an opportunity to steal a job from her former agency, she jumps on it. However, the job is not what she had expected - searching for a gig as a nanny, she finds herself posing as a social secretary of an actress/singer, Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams).
  
  Thus begins the start of the 24 hour Cinderella story in which Guinevere provides balance for Delysia's lovelife whilst finding one for herself. Delysia's juggling three boyfriends - Nick (Mark Strong), whose place she's sleeping in when we first meet her, Phil (Tom Payne), a producer of a play she's auditioning for, and Michael (Lee Pace), a piano player. Guinevere finds a lovelife of her own when she meets one of the top clothing designers in all of London, Joe (Ciaran Hinds). The ruthless villainness of the story is Edythe (Shirley Henderson, who plays Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter story), who owns a clothing store.
  
  "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" is almost surreal in tone throughout it's first half. The complete over-the-top performances, limited sets, and nonstop jazz make you feel like you're watching some sort of play. Fortunately this movie doesn't completely crumble, as Frances McDormand and and Amy Adams are perhaps two of the most capable women of essentially overacting in a completely oddball manner. Film critic Michael Philips puts it best by saying they're performing for the second balcony - it's pace is so upbeat and suave that it's almost difficult to keep up.
  
  Thankfully, however, the movie does begin to slow down and learn it's pace. We're no longer met with a constant score and squealing women, rather a fairly endearing and completely light-hearted story. You'll react to this in one of two ways - either complete and utter glee and satisfaction, or a burning hatred for such faceless cheer and happiness. You've never seen such an absurdly happy movie... "light-hearted", in this case, is the definition of an understatement.
  
  While the film is rather irresistible and completely warm, there's still much about it that's completely ingenuine. The previously mentioned over-the-top performances can be distracting as you feel you're watching a cartoon rather than a motion picture. The setting itself can also come off as rather pretentious, especially when accompanied with a constant wit and at times grating endless score. I was begging for some more quiet moments.
  
  What really makes "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" so magical is how well-intentioned and innocent it is. It's PG-13 due to some sexual innuendos and partial nudity from Amy Adams, but it's so remarkably un-pornographic that I wouldn't even say parents should have much to worry about. This is an enjoyable retelling of the overdone Cinderella story only hindered by sometimes distracting and inconsistent direction.

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  September 28, 2008

  limoradalloway

  Sweet and long overdue as far as feel-good movies go. It's fun, witty, and quite memorable. I loved the cast. I loved the style.

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  November 16, 2009

  amheyalivc

  It's so funny. Completely enjoyable.

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  November 14, 2009

  Nenebelle

  Recommended by JDFortuneFan.
  
  Watchable light hearted drama/comedy (not sure what it was meant to be really lol) set in the 1930s,the art deco sets are to die for. Amy Adams was great but overall the movie was nothing special.

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  November 14, 2009

  watsupwithdat

  Wasn't expecting much, saw some ads for it, saw that Amy Adams was in it and IQd it. Was worth seeing Amy Adams tits hang out for the most part and she was nude a few times, but always covered up.

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• 
  
  October 19, 2009

  Arianeta

  Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a 2008 British/American romantic comedy film directed by Bharat Nalluri. The screenplay by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy is based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Winifred Watson.

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  October 18, 2009

  rainyflower7

  Rien d'exceptionnel, mais un film sympa et frais.

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View more Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

• 
  March 17, 2008

  sudharsunsam

  yes me too got the same reactions when saw the flim........
  
  
  
  seeyou again friend.................
• 
  January 29, 2008

  sarahloveswicked

  This movie looks awesome! I love Amy Adams! I love the line in the trailer where she says: You don't know how close I am to having nothing. It makes me wanna cry! I need friends! If you like Enchanted, 27 Dresses, Sydney White, and Juno, add me!
• 
  November 23, 2007

  JDFortuneFan

  View trailer here-
  
  http://www.movieweb.com/video/V07K19fgijvAIW

• Frances McDormand
• Amy Adams
• Ciarán Hinds
• Shirley Henderson
• Lee Pace
• Mark Strong
• Tom Payne

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