An aficionado of music and styles of the 30's and 40's, I couldn't wait to see this movie and was ready to love it. So many elements were there - the premise, the characters, flawless casting from the leads to the supporting actors, and evocative and charming look and sound. But for a truly engaging "screwball comedy with a heart" the story and dialogue were often painfully clumsy. Worse, drawn-out mugging by the usually wonderful McDormand and Adams (in supposedly farcical situations) wasn't funny and made the pace positively lurch along, clearly the fault of the direction and editing. By the time there were some enchanting and poignant moments - which only intensified my disappointment over what might have been - the audience seemed frankly bored. They never laughed and filed out at the end with ruefull shrugs. Miss Pettigrew was as pleasant and inoffensive as your great-aunt Mabel, but it should have left everyone wiping a tear while doing a little two-step out the door to the jaunty end-title music. I'm very surprised at the enthusiasm of the majority of the reviewers, but good for them if they enjoyed it.
Review of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
