Enjoyable but predictable - That is something you could say about most of Garry Marshall's movies. He continues in the same vein here with Raising Helen, a comedy about a woman who is asked to care for her sister's children after her sister and her husband are killed in a car accident.
Kate Hudson plays the title role of Helen Harris, an executive assistant at a Modelling Agency, whose life is turned upside down by the news that her sister and her brother-in-law were killed in an accident. As Helen and her other sister Jenny (Joan Cusack) come to terms with their loss, they are surprised to learn that their sister had arranged for her 3 kids to be raised by Helen should anything happen to her. Jenny, seemingly a perfect mom to her 2 children with another one on the way, is aghast at the decision, while Helen decides to make an attempt at raising them and ends up giving up her social life trying to cope.
The rest of the movie is predictable - We see Helen trying to mix her work and her responsibilities and some humorous situations occur. The tone of the film is rather light, not trying to be anything other than a comedy, though we do feel some sympathy for Helen for all that she goes through in trying to raise 3 kids. She tries to balance all this with a sudden romance with Pastor Dan (John Corbett), who can apparently date even though he's a pastor because he's Lutheran and who also happens to be the Principal of the School where Helen sends the kids. The influence of producer Ashok Amritraj can be seen in the form of the Indian Neighbours - It's nice to see more Indian characters in mainstream cinema these days; the Janitor from The Terminal is another example.
Kate Hudson plays her part well, ably supported by a nice cast with the always-great Joan Cusack and an underused John Corbett. The characters of the 3 Kids, who form the core of the story, were also well acted; they seemed believable and had good chemistry with Hudson. All in all, it was a nice way to spend an evening and it was a fun movie. As I said, it doesn't pretend to be anything other than a typical Garry Marshall comedy, but then that is probably why I enjoyed it. I gave it a 7/10.
Kate Hudson plays the title role of Helen Harris, an executive assistant at a Modelling Agency, whose life is turned upside down by the news that her sister and her brother-in-law were killed in an accident. As Helen and her other sister Jenny (Joan Cusack) come to terms with their loss, they are surprised to learn that their sister had arranged for her 3 kids to be raised by Helen should anything happen to her. Jenny, seemingly a perfect mom to her 2 children with another one on the way, is aghast at the decision, while Helen decides to make an attempt at raising them and ends up giving up her social life trying to cope.
The rest of the movie is predictable - We see Helen trying to mix her work and her responsibilities and some humorous situations occur. The tone of the film is rather light, not trying to be anything other than a comedy, though we do feel some sympathy for Helen for all that she goes through in trying to raise 3 kids. She tries to balance all this with a sudden romance with Pastor Dan (John Corbett), who can apparently date even though he's a pastor because he's Lutheran and who also happens to be the Principal of the School where Helen sends the kids. The influence of producer Ashok Amritraj can be seen in the form of the Indian Neighbours - It's nice to see more Indian characters in mainstream cinema these days; the Janitor from The Terminal is another example.
Kate Hudson plays her part well, ably supported by a nice cast with the always-great Joan Cusack and an underused John Corbett. The characters of the 3 Kids, who form the core of the story, were also well acted; they seemed believable and had good chemistry with Hudson. All in all, it was a nice way to spend an evening and it was a fun movie. As I said, it doesn't pretend to be anything other than a typical Garry Marshall comedy, but then that is probably why I enjoyed it. I gave it a 7/10.