Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: Critic Reviews

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.

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.

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.

After a particularly dour Oscar season, the jolly romantic romp Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day sparkles like a rhinestone in the muck.

If dour Miss Pettigrew does indeed live for a day, good for her. That's 24 hours longer than this movie seems to.

In adapting Winifred Watson's 1938 novel, director Bharat Nalluri strains frantically to evoke the champagne fizz of classic screwball comedies.

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.

Working from an unabashedly contrived but splendidly clever script by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy, director Bharat Nalluri keeps the mood light, the pace brisk and the wordplay pleasurable.

By the end of Miss Pettigrew, an artificial construct full of familiar comic archetypes has relaxed into a charming Cinderella story.

Director Bharat Nalluri tries to goose the bedroom farce with swing music, heavy on the brushes and clarinet, and the blossoming romance between the frumpy Pettigrew and an urbane fashion designer seems willfully ignorant of British class codes.

This nostalgic Cinderella story starring Hollywood's scandalously underutilized treasure is a jubilee for McDormand and jolly good fun for most everyone else.

Although it's small-scale, the film has a sumptuous sheen.

There's an easy congeniality and air of old-school wit to Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and even if the film tries too hard at times, it's awfully enjoyable despite itself.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day isn't going to change your life. But it will make it a lot more enjoyable for a couple of hours.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a trifle of a movie confection, sweet and gummy as a jelly bean -- and 10 minutes later, just as forgettable.

The fragile subtlety of the pas de deux of Ms. McDormand and Mr. Hinds is alone worth the price of admission.

Eventually builds enough steam to pay off emotionally.

I adore Frances McDor mand, but she's seri ously miscast -- in a title role Emma Thompson could play in her sleep -- in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, an uneasy blend of screwball comedy and pathos set in 1939 London.

The players, especially Adams, overwhelm [director] Nalluri's early uncertainty and make sure that Miss Pettigrew does indeed live for a day, and for one pretty delightful night at the movies.

You can't criticize a souffle for not being a side of beef.

From the premise to the sets to the performances, everything about this lively comic fable is dead predictable.

Miss Pettigrew is one of those rare cases where a filmmaker's good intentions, and the enthusiasm of his actors, are enough to fill in the cracks.

Miss Pettigrew is a feel-good production that strives and succeeds to put smiles on the faces of its viewers.

Two glorious star turns by gifted actresses Frances McDormand and Amy Adams.

After a slow and tiresome start, Miss Pettigrew forges ahead with true British fortitude and class, an endearing bond forming between McDormand and Adams, who are ably backed by a top-notch supporting cast led by Ciaran Hinds and Shirley Henderson.