Educando A Helen

I loved Kate Hudson in Almost Famous, and a few people told me this film was good, so we rented it.

We did enjoy it. It had some very funny moments, and some very tender moments. Kate Hudson was good, but don't expect "Almost Famous" style brilliance out of her in this one. The rest of the cast performs about the same -- good performances, nothing stellar. Except perhaps Joan Cusack; her performance was very good.

If you have kids, say, about ten years old and older this is a good film to watch together with them -- it introduces them to a few teen and adult issues (dating, death, etc.) and shows the sorts of tough decisions that parents sometimes have to make. And you'll have lots of fun laughing together too.

When I first saw the trailers for this movie, I thought it might be cute, but I had reservations because everything I've seen Kate Hudson in since "Almost Famous" has been quite disappointing. This one, she finally picked a winner. It didn't hurt that her costar is John Corbett. The two of them actually have pretty good chemistry, and the three kids are cute without being annoying. There were lots of tears in this one...more tears than laughs, maybe. It is a great "chick flick". I will have to wait for the DVD to see the end credits because the theater flubbed up and cut off the film right after the final music crescendoed and you could tell the credits were coming. How annoying. Anyway, I digress. Not sure why this is rated PG13, because I don't remember anything blatantly offensive. Again, I wonder why filmmakers can't just be a little more "delicate" and get those PG ratings. There are so few movies we can enjoy as a family...this one I will probably allow my 9 year old to see. Many people won't because of the rating. Too bad. I recommend this one.

Uneven comedy drama about a fast living fashion designer assistant, Helen Harris (Kate Hudson), and her journey of self discovery. She has two older sisters, the oldest one being Lindsay (Felicity Huffman) and the 2nd oldest being Jenny (Joan Cusack) with Helen being the baby of the 3. Though they all love each other dearly, Helen and Lindsay seem to have the strongest bond while poor Jenny is the odd girl out, even though she raised Helen mostly by herself after their mom died and Lindsay was in New York trying to make it as a dancer. Lindsay and Jenny are both married and have kids, while Helen is not but Lindsay's kids, especially 15 year old Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), think she's the coolest aunt in the world.

Then Lindsay and her husband die in a car accident and guess who Lindsay chose to raise the kids? Helen! Even though Jenny is clearly more qualified thanks to her lifetime of motherhood, Lindsay decided to fork the kids over to Helen who not only smokes but has no idea of how to raise kids. Predictably, this throws Helen's life all out of whack as she is forced to move and find a new job and finds herself in an awkward relationship with the principal of the kids new school, Lutheran man Pastor Dan (John Corbett reprising his nice guy persona from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"). Well, 6 or 7 year old Sarah has trouble grasping the concept of death and 10 year old Henry (Spencer Breslin) is in a depression while the hormonal and rather horny Audrey thinks that having Helen for a guardian means that Helen will indulge all the teen girl desires that her mother would never have allowed her to indulge. Audrey is quite surprised when Helen calls on their aluminum baseball bat wielding Indian neighbor Nilma to get rid of a bunch of hoodlum punks she has made friends with and brought up to Helen's apartment. "What's the matter with you?!" the obnoxious 15 year old screams. "Don't you remember what it's like to be young?!" Helen replies to Audrey's cliché insult "Yeah, it was last Wednesday!" Later on, Audrey almost ruins her life when she ditches a prom she was attending to go off with her hoodlum "DJ" boyfriend to a motel intending to have sex, only to be rescued/thwarted by Aunt Jenny the supermom and Helen. In a scene both funny and dramatic, Jenny uses her pregnant belly as a form of terror and metaphor for teen parenthood against the boyfriend. In the end, Helen finally finds the strength to be a parental figure and all is relatively right with the world.

Kate Hudson is cute and has some comedic ability, but her mother, actress Goldie Hawn, was even cuter and funnier when she was the same age Kate is now and still is. Kate works hard to make you like Helen but this is the kind of character (and scenario) her mother would have pulled off without breaking a sweat. Maybe Kate should give up comedy and focus on becoming a dramatic actress. Either way though, Kate is easily out-acted by co-star Joan Cusack, a tall, gangly woman who's wasp like face can be made to look a lot better or a lot worse; Joan makes you feel more for Jenny than Helen, which is not the right effect I think. John Corbett also overshadows Kate in this film. Helen Mirren makes the most of her role as Helen's ice like boss. I wasn't a big fan of the kids. The worst offender though was Audrey; Hollywood is really starting to scare me with their idolizing teen girls. That and the fact that Audrey, even by growing pain standards, is a bitch to deal with, a 39 year old whore trapped in a 15 year old girl's body. Are 15 year old girls REALLY this horny in real life? And do they really get THIS sucked up with bad boys? I kept waiting for someone to smack her. Personally they should have let her ruin her life by having sex, it would have served her right the bitch. You hang out with trash like this "DJ" as she calls him then you're asking for it.

Garry Marshall has this thing about doing variations on the Cinderella concept. For example, "Pretty Woman" was about a downtrodden woman who got elevated into a better life. Here, he reverses things so that the woman already has it all and learns that the smaller way of life is good too. Too bad it wasn't a better film.

Helen Harris (Kate Hudson) is living the high life in New York City and working for a top-modeling agency, when her sister and brother-in-law die in an auto accident. Her good times are over when she gets a letter from her sister's attorney. Helen has been given custody of her sister's three children. Helen has never raised any children, and she thinks her older sister, Jenny (Joan Cusack) is better qualified to raise the children. Helen accepts the custody of the three children, and they move to a new apartment in Queens. Helen loved staying out late and going to nightclubs, but she now has to take care of the children. Helen is forced to change her lifestyle and become a real mom, which in turn gets her fired from her glamorous job. In the end, Helen learns what is really important in life. This is a heartwarming and cute comedy that will make you tear up. It is the type of movie that your girlfriend or wife will drag her mate to see. In other words, it will appeal more to women than men. (Touchstone Pictures, Run time 1:59, Rated PG-13) (6/10)

There's a scene early in the movie where Kate convinces a guy to let her friend into a club even though her friend isn't on the "list." Kate leans over, puts her head on the dude's chest, writes the girl's name, and comments, "Now she's on the list." Worked like a charm. Come on, how many guys can resist that? What? Oh, I mean besides any of the male designers on "Trading Spaces." Kate pretty much does the same thing with this movie. She smiled, blinked her eyes at me, giggled a little, put her head on my chest, and convinced me to keep watching.

This isn't a great movie, but Kate's smile and personality are enough to keep it from being a chore to watch. However, if you were to replace Kate with someone like Kirsten Dunst, then I would've been out of the theater in about 15 minutes.

The story isn't really original, and to no one's surprise it's pretty predictable as well. Carefree gal is loving life. Tragedy intervenes and forces her to change lifestyle. Someone (older sister, Joan Cusack) is there to provide conflict. Carefree gal decides she truly CAN handle her new life. Tears are shed, hands are held, hugs are in groups, and "Kumbaya" is figuratively sung. Roll credits.

If you're expecting loads of laugh, then you're likely to be disappointed. This movie focuses more on the dramatic, especially near the end where things just start to get way too sappy for any guy not named Richard Simmons. But there are some cute and funny moments sprinkled throughout, most as a direct result of Kate's charm. However, John Corbett (who plays a Lutheran pastor) has a great line when he tells Kate, "I'm a sexy man of God, and I know it."

Joan Cusack does a pretty good job as well. Kate is the coolest aunt in the world, while Joan is the most motherly. You see, Joan's the aunt who'll kick your butt and make you mad, but she's the kind of person kids need around 'em. She has one of the best scenes in the movie when she shows up at a hotel and totally lays the smack down on a little punk who took her 15-year-old niece (Hayden Panettiere) there during prom. The older women in the movie theater clapped and cheered. Little boys dream about being superheroes, baseball players, and firemen. Little girls dream about being princesses, actresses, and dating Kirk Cameron (well, at least Stephanie did). But this scene is what mothers and aunts dream about.

If you want to see a much better movie dealing with a similar "my lifestyle will completely change because of this tragedy" theme, then I recommend "Jersey Girl." But those of you who are in dire need of some big-screen Kate Hudson should be satisfied as long as you're not looking for a movie to challenge you or have you guffawing in your seat.

THE GIST

"Raising Helen" is truly a chick flick, and it should definitely please its intended female audience. But guys, if you like Kate Hudson, then it's not the worst movie to sit through if you wanna score some points by taking your lady to see this. If you're the type of person who can cry during a long-distance phone commercial then this is movie gold for you.