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100Frothy and exuberantly entertaining - in part because of the sexual innuendoes - it's the best romantic comedy so far this year.
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88Adams shines brightly, reinforcing the image she projected in Junebug and enhanced in Enchanted and Charlie Wilson's War. At this time of the year, it's tough to find a more diverting way to spend 90 minutes in a multiplex.
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83It's an unusual and engaging romantic comedy because it's mostly about how these women ready each other for real love.
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83Based on the 1938 novel by Winifred Watson, it's a deluxe romance that most of the time plays like farce.
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80Sustains itself through terrific forward momentum and two glorious star turns by gifted actresses Frances McDormand and Amy Adams.
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80Watching McDormand navigate that transformation is the kind of thing that can keep your hope in movies, and in actors, alive.
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75Style is a tricky, elusive thing, and this film doesn't so much have it as strive for it, constantly. But something in Watson's story endures: The wish-fulfillment truly satisfies. And with the war clouds gathering by story's end, the fairy tale acquires a bittersweet edge, nicely cutting all that whipped cream.
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75The only thing missing from this winsome, madcap throwback set in London on the eve of World War II is an actual Brit in the title role.
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75A jubilee for McDormand and jolly good fun for most everyone else.
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75Looks and sounds great, and is at its best when it isn't trying too hard to have fun.
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75A good farce is hard to find. Particularly one that holds up for the entirety of the story and keeps us engrossed, while smiling. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a particularly effective and cheeky example.
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70Plays like a breeze and ends before we know it. In the current state of cinema, all we can hope for is one like this per year.
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70Bharat Nalluri directs with a light touch and a great eye for costumes and sets, which are gorgeous enough to make up for any contrivances in the plot. It's pure romantic fantasy, and you won't believe it for a minute. But it's fun to watch Miss Pettigrew and Miss Lafosse live for a couple of hours.
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70How light is this movie? So buoyant that even an air raid warning, signaling that this whole world is about to crumble under the blitz, can't dampen its giddy spirits.
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70McDormand's performance slowly builds a solid integrity, and contrasts well with Adams' more flamboyant turn.
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70The film's flaws are nothing compared with the pleasures it offers, chiefly in its unapologetic pursuit of old-fashioned sweetness and romance.
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67The film is lovely to look at -- so overflowing with lavish furniture, jewelry and interiors that it's almost like a visit to Paris' Musée des Arts Décoratifs. If you're a fan of such things, "Pettigrew" is worth seeing solely for its sets.
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63It's left to the ideally cast McDormand to keep everything on track and, as expected, she weathers every tonal change with competence, confidence and a perfectly stiff upper lip.
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58Adams, of course, is a peach. Her sparkle requires only minor character adjustment and twinkle recharging from her recent triumph as the old-fashioned modern heroine in "Enchanted."
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58In trying to recapture the spirit of classic '30s screwball comedies, the film too often mistakes manic energy for wit, and it ends on a note of gloppy sentimentality that wouldn't have held water in Old Hollywood.
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50I adore Frances McDor mand, but she's seriously miscast in a title role Emma Thompson could play in her sleep.
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50It's polished-looking, yet dull.
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50Although McDormand's performance is consistently focused -- one would expect no less from the actress -- the movie itself can't settle on whether Miss Pettigrew is Mary Poppins minus the sugar spoonful or just plain Carrie Nation.
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50The comedic success of this pair of dramatic archetypes, the radiant flibbertigibbet and the gray, lumpen elder spinster, in a lightweight bit of piffle such as this is a testament to both Adams' and McDormand's smarts. It's tough to play dumb when you're not and even more difficult to dial down your own innate brilliance.
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What makes Watson's novel a delight is its guilelessly homoerotic subtext. By downplaying that, the movie argues the case for Watson's innocent sensuality--and against its own worldly update.
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50This was shot at the legendary Ealing Studios, but I hesitate to call it a British comedy: its two stars are American, it currently has no UK release date, and its innocuous naughtiness seems pitched at grandmothers who watch BBC America.
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40At least Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day has the good grace to go wrong quickly, you don't have to sit there squirming with doubt.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 12
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Mixed: 0 out of 12
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Negative: 1 out of 12
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JayH.7
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Nathanl7
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BillC.0