Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front

Molly was the hit of our Christmas week viewing. We had a mixed household - two girls, ages 8 and 10; their dad; me (50+); and great grandma. I'm giving the movie its excellent rating not simply because it's so highly enjoyable (and thought-provoking), but also because it held the interest of viewers with an age range spanning eight decades. How often can you say that? I didn't know what to expect (the two young viewers are American Girl fans) but found myself drawn to the story, and moved by it. The screenwriter and director have done a wonderful job of capturing both time (World War II) and place (middle America). There is a lovely mix of poignant moments and lighter scenes. Molly Ringwald surprised me with the depth of her portrayal, and the young actors are a pleasure to watch. The movie is never preachy, nor is it sugar-coated. I won't give away the final scene, but will say that during it our audience's two youngsters and their dad gave each other a spontaneous hug.

I am unfamiliar with the series of "American Girl" books, so I viewed this film strictly on its own merits, just to see how accurately it depicts the American home front of World War II. Believe me, it does so astonishingly well. Frankly, I did not expect much from such a modest, unheralded release, but "An American Girl on the Home Front" is a sincere effort that should shame the shallow-minded producers of Hollywood rubbish. The screenplay is convincing, the performances and direction are uniformly excellent, and the sense of period is wonderfully captured, with evocative props, staging, and costumes. The people on screen seem utterly real instead of cardboard stereotypes, and the plot kept me guessing. I genuinely felt for these characters - even bringing tears to the eyes - and the film made me wish for a simpler, more innocent time than what we experience today. Watch this film, and grieve for a long-lost America that will never be again.

I'm only 25 minutes in watching with my daughter and this movie is already a huge disappointment. We were so excited to watch this after finishing the books together. I read them growing up and couldn't wait to share them with my daughter. She loved the books just as I did as a kid. Well. The movie is SO inaccurate. It's like the writers didn't even read the books. Pretty much the only thing that matches the books are the character names. So much of the plot is changed, there are huge plot holes and the writers pretty much just went totally 'off script'. My need for even remote accuracy is making me crazy watching this movie. My daughter is 5 and is enjoying it anyways but I pretty much hate it.

I watched this movie with my six year old daughter and my Mom. First let me say that this a good family movie...they seem to be rare today! We all enjoyed the story of Molly and her family set during WW II. It was a first glimpse of the WW II era for my first grade daughter. My Mom was in fourth grade when her father went off to serve in the war so she could really relate to the story and enjoyed it a great deal. At one point during the movie my mother remarked "this is quite a history lesson". The story is so interesting that most kids won't even realize that they are learning as well as being entertained.

This a a must see for everyone, not just American Girl Fans. A very interesting history lesson!

We watched this with our 7 and 4 year olds and found it a very good family movie that was enjoyable to watch even though it dealt with very weighty topics.

I found myself explaining aspects of war to the kids, introducing very current topics as at the time of this writing the United States is at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I felt this movie helped give an appropriate introduction of weighty topics such that the kids can understand a bit more about their world without being thrown into depression or overwhelmed with things they can't understand.

The movie also illustrates the value of persistence, hard work, studying, reading, being polite and considerate, altruism, compassion, helpfulness, and not giving up hope. All of that in such a way that you hardly notice; there's never a sense of preaching or proselytizing.

The acting is TERRIFIC... Molly's teacher does an amazing job of period acting, Emily plays her part well and Molly herself is done in a style that is rare in American cinema; a complete contrast to Samantha.

That being said I liked the character of Samantha better and there a few flaws in the movie. I have not read the books, so I'm judging the movie entirely on its own merits and vs Samantha which was the only other movie in this series that we've seen.

Overally hurray for this movie and the series.