One For the Ladies

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 
starring Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, and Ciaran Hinds

I believe I rashly promised that my next review would be of some work of art that chicks would enjoy.  I didn't have to think very long to recall this marvelous confection.  The Memsahib and I went to see this at the local art house (the wonderful Angelica in the Shops at Legacy in Plano).   The Mem doesn't care for violent action flicks, which tend to be relegated to pay-per-view at home.   I don't mind -- it's a good policy that steers us away from blockbusters and toward deserving smaller movies.  

I liked this one a lot.  Frances McDormand plays a governess terminated from her prior employ.  She is desperate for work and contrives to be assigned to bird-dog a flighty American babe played by the ubiquitous but ubiquitous-for-a-reason Amy Adams.  Ms. Adams is an American in London on the make and pursued by a variety of unacceptable gentlemen from whom Ms. McDormand seeks to protect her -- but not too vigorously.  In the meantime, Ms. McDormand's very proper Miss Pettigrew -- well, she lives for a day, and, we are led to believe, more to come.

The two principals are a delight to watch, and Ciaran Hinds steals the scenes he is in.  (He played Julius Caesar in the HBO miniseries "Rome.")  

This is not a movie that is going to make you forget the greatest chickflicks of all time, but the skill of its stars, the wit, and, to be blunt, the romance, must win over even the guy-est of the guys.  When it comes right down to it, most dudes will admit, if only to themselves, that they enjoy the game of romance.  They will indeed sit still to watch it on the screen. 

It's out of the theaters now, so rent it, download it, sit close to your honey, make sure the popcorn is buttered enough for the guy but not too much for the honey, and havs yourself a merry little evening.