Little Miss Millions

Don't get me wrong, I like this movie. It has all the good elements (bad guy turns into good guy so you don't feel bad about liking him, cute-but-not-too-cute kid who you can watch without wanting to up-chuck, detestable adopted parents, stereotype inept FBI agents, and the morally sound underworld that we all know exists, right?) and it runs along nicely with a few gags (the scene where the FBI guy sits and has a coffee with the alleged kidnapper is well done) but really you know what's happening an age before the end, and for some that's the cue to switch off. I'm not like that. Stay till the end and see the movie through. It's fun, and you'll be glad you did. 7 out of 10 from me.

This is a very good movie that I would recommend for anyone, especially those with a family. It has action elements to keep the men entertained and a plot touching enough to make those same testosterone filled men blubber like babies.

Basically the premise is simple, Heather, a young lady played by the enchanting Jennifer Love Hewitt (called simply Love Hewitt in the credits) lives with her stepmother after her birth father passed away. She longs to meet her biological mother so she is forced to run away from home. The stepmother then hires a detective to find her for a large reward. The plot thickens when the stepmother tries to double cross the detective and save the reward money leading to both Heather and the newly hired detective being on the lamb together.

The character development is good, but not great. The characters are mostly two dimensional. The step mother is the typical wicked kind, the FBI agents are stereotypically bumbling throughout. Also the detectives business associate is the typical tightwad. Fortunately the important roles more than make up for the supporting cast.

Howard Hesseman makes a wonderful if not formulaic grouch and Love Hewitt is so adorable you'll like the movie just because she's in it. Their characters start out with a lot of animosity which is to be expected, only to find that they are more alike than meets the eye.

The ending isn't surprising, and the movie flows smoothly along without any unexpected twists. There is a story to de told and the director wisely left the twists out instead focusing on the stars, keeping everything else to a minimum. Not every movie can pull this off, but in this case Hewitt and Hessman are all you care about, so more would have been just that, more. I'm not going to give away too much but that you will leave feeling better for having seen it.

Little Miss Millions has a standard, cardboard cutout plot- a girl(Jennifer L. H.) is tired of living away from her real mother, despite her step family's riches, so she runs away from home. A private detective goes on a hunt for her, and along the way, some strange events unfold. First, he assaults several security officers, grabs her in a crowded airport, and takes her across several state borders in the back of his car. They are alone for the majority of the movie, and sleep together in an abandoned house. They share a motel room together, where the 13 or 14-year old Jennifer Love Hewitt prances around in front of him wearing a skimpy bathrobe. Then he tosses her in the back of the car, wearing the bathrobe, the police chase him, he ends up killing 2 cops in a squad car in the chase, then at the end of the movie he gets off scot free, no charges pressed against him, and J.L.H. gets to be with her real mom. Everybody has warm and fuzzy feelings, especially the detective, if you catch my drift! I found this a bit perverse and sick with the innuendo, but overall, it's an entertaining film.

Most movies that use the background of the Christmas season are a collection of clichés. This story however, offers an original story, a christmas road movie. Howard Hesseman does a fine job, I totally respect the work of this actor. With Love Hewith in this film I got the strange feeling that she was her mature self, playing a young girl. She´s totally adorable in each scene and there is chemistry with Hesseman. Their performances are just right, not over-acted and the neat, effective script helps.

This is a road movie for the whole family. Even though elements of the plot may be too difficult for younger kids to understand, they will be charmed by Jennifer Love Hewitt and the jovial Howard Hesseman, who gradually becomes the 'good guy'. Unfortunately, some kids might be confused as to why the police are chasing the duo, and are seemingly the 'bad guys', since the whole idea of fraudulent adopted parents will be complex for them. Older kids and adults will appreciate the theme of families, and that money can't buy happiness. Hewitt, in a more child-like phase before her move up to horror ('I Know What You Did Last Summer') and teen romance comedy ('Can't Hardly Wait'), is good to watch, as is the whole film, which is rollicking good fun with characters you can cheer on. 8 out of 10.