Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

We have a marvelous cast -- Amy Adams and Frances McDormand as well as Lee Pace (from the new T.V. show "Pushing Daisies") -- in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and gorgeous 1930's sets of lavish apartments and nightclubs. Plus the promise of nostalgic music. But the thinnest of story lines. And that's why, unfortunately, I have to pass on Miss Pettigrew.

We find out soon enough that Miss Pettigrew is a nanny who has been tossed out of the best homes in London, mostly due to a moralistic disagreement with one employer, then another. But soon she's facing homelessness. She steals an introduction to a woman who has called for a social secretary, and blunders into a scene that is totally out of control, namely, Amy Adams' character, Delysia, who has three beaus. Arriving at the same time. So, Miss Pettigrew, despite herself, goes into doing what only she can do, and saves the day. In the meantime, she has decided who is right for Delysia after all, and even seems to have picked out a beau for herself. All in the space of one day.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous costumes, furniture, Amy Adams and all the other young lovelies decorating the sets. But gorgeous does not a film make. And when I finally think I'm going to hear Amy Adams sing, they trot out that old chestnut, "If I Didn't Care," and she does a wonderful job with it, but it's just not enough, I said, stamping my foot.

If sheer personality could will this film into shape, you'd think we had something. But no. Lee Pace is charming. Amy is everso. Frances McDormand is, well, she's great, but it's just not enough -- if Miss Pettigrew were wearing this storyline, she'd freeze from the cold.

Thumb's down.