Raising Helen (i've never been this nice..... unbelievable!)

Title:
Raising Helen (A-)
PH Release Date:
September 26, 2004
Actors:
Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack, Helen Mirren
Director:
Garry Marshall
Story & Screenplay:
Patrick J. Clifton et al.
Producer:
Mario Iscovich et al.
Studio:
Columbia

She had everything a girl could wish for… except what she needed most---me!!!

Helen is a beautiful 20-sumtin lady with a promising career and a happy family. She’s about to reach her goal in her career, to be an agent in the fashion world. Things were flowing smoothly right until her sister and her siz’s husband died of an accident. She was left with the surprising and tough task of raising her sister’s kids, and her normally more qualified sister definitely ain’t happy about it. She’ll learn that rearing a teenager, a barely teenager and a kid is not as easy as taking calls from Paris and Milan.

The Oscar® nominee Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) is back in the big screen after her divorce fiasco with Naomi Watts in Le Divorce. This time, she’s working her way to raising 3 ordinary kids and balancing her job as a fashion assistant. The movie delves into sibling rivalry, finding romance, death, career struggle and many more but what’s the most important thing is that it was a movie (unlike Sharky Taily) with a heart.

The Marshall’s magic is in this movie, unlike his latest release, PD2: The Royal Disaster, this movie of many different genres but of one distinct style delivers a story, a lesson and a heart. It was finely directed and the storytelling may not be as perfect as other people thinks, but it’s as smooth as I think it should be. This is the kind of Marshall movie that should not be missed, it may not be as fresh as Pretty Woman but it is as lovely.

I am disgusted by how US critics reacted to this movie. They say it’s so ordinary and clichéd and undeniably offensive. Well, I don’t think so!? It may not be as groundbreaking as some movies but it’s definitely good. Have they forgotten that most movies that come out today are customary? And that it isn’t just the inventiveness of the concept that is important but the storytelling as well? How come they find it offensive to both career women and stay-at-home moms if well in fact, they’re just portraying the reality of their culture? I think the truth is just too big for them to swallow, maybe chewing it first will help them to realize what the movie is really trying to say.

I fully acknowledge the fact that the movie ain’t that original and that some of its parts I’ve seen before, but I am not denying this movie from its right of being called innovative in way that this kind of concepts has finally been depicted with realness. It isn’t too good to be true. It is too real that it shouldn’t be ignored.

Some of you may be shock by how I am reacting but I know this movie deserves more than what others give it credit for. It may not be that perfect but it’s definitely respectable. The humor was simple and not strained that you’re laughing in that certain way that it really makes you feel good. The drama was so effective that (even if it’s hard for me to admit it) I cried twice! The wake scene was just seamless, excellent writing and direction, and it was so simple yet so real that you really feel the emotions.

Kate gave her best performance yet in this movie. It shows how good she really is and that she’s not just another daughter of a movie star with a pretty face. She’s way more than that and this movie discern that. Joan Cusack was also successful in representing a socially secluded potpourri mom. And John Corbett was just John Corbett, straight from Sex and the City.

It will not be fair though if I wouldn’t tell you that the photography kinda suck, take a good look on the screen and I’m sure you’ll see the boom mike making cameo appearances. The movie’s turn into the climax was not that great as well but it’s acceptable. But besides these two, the only thing you’ll notice is how touching this movie is.

It didn’t really ended as good as I hoped but overall it surpassed my expectations. I totally didn’t plan on seeing this movie and it’s good to know that I had the chance to change my mind (not to mention there’s nothing more to see that we both agree with). It’s the perfect movie for moms and career women and best friends. Although it is not mostly applicable to us culture wise, one’s role as a mother and an aunt is always the same. Take this movie as an example of how real life can get and how we should learn to live truly not just for our own but also for the ones we love (sob!).