It's all message, no tension.
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:98
Fresh:77
Rotten:21
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: Refreshingly sweet and sincere, Kit's doll-and-book-inspired do-good mystery may be geared towards the tween girl but will please audiences of all ages.
Genre: Childrens
US Box Office: $17,533,514
Synopsis:
In the first feature film based on the hugely popular American Girl® book series, Oscar® nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) stars as a resourceful young girl whose bravery, compassion...
In the first feature film based on the hugely popular American Girl® book series, Oscar® nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) stars as a resourceful young girl whose bravery, compassion and determination help her solve a mystery that saves her family’s home during the Great Depression. Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is directed by Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park) from a screenplay by Ann Peacock (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). The film’s all-star ensemble cast includes two-time Oscar nominee Joan Cusack (In & Out, Working Girl), Glenne Headly (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Tony Award winner and Golden Globe nominee Jane Krakowski (“Ally McBeal”), Golden Globe nominee Chris O’Donnell (Batman & Robin), Julia Ormond (Legends of the Fall), Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) and two-time Golden Globe winner Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada).
Aspiring reporter Kit Kittredge can’t resist bringing home strays, whether it’s Grace, an abandoned basset hound or Will and Countee, a pair of young hobos willing to trade work for meals. Bright, inquisitive and generous, Kit is a natural born leader. But her happy childhood is abruptly interrupted when her father (Chris O’Donnell) loses his car dealership and must leave Cincinnati to look for work. Kit and her mother Margaret (Julia Ormond) are left to manage on their own, growing vegetables, selling eggs and even taking in an assortment of boarders including an itinerant magician (Stanley Tucci), a vivacious dance instructor on the prowl for a husband (Jane Krakowski) and a zany mobile librarian (Joan Cusack).
When a crime spree sweeps Cincinnati, all signs point to the local “hobo jungle,” where Will and Countee live with a group of their impoverished companions. Kit, who always has her antennae out for a good news story, convinces her new friends to take her to see the hobo camp for herself and writes an article that creates a sympathetic portrait of the camp’s residents. But when Kit’s mother and their boarders become the latest victims in a string of robberies, Kit’s loyalties are tested. Will is accused of the crimes and, with all of their savings gone, the Kittredges face losing their house to foreclosure. Determined to recover the stolen money and believing Will is innocent, Kit recruits her friends Ruthie (Madison Davenport) and Stirling (Zach Mills) to help her track down the real culprit. Together they uncover a plot that goes far beyond Cincinnati!
--© Picturehouse
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Starring: Abigail Breslin, Stanley Tucci, Julia Ormond, Joan Cusack
Starring: Abigail Breslin, Stanley Tucci, Julia Ormond, Joan Cusack, Glenne Headly, Jane Krakowski, Chris O'Donnell, Wallace Shawn, Madison Davenport, Zach Mills, Willow Smith, Max Thieriot
Director: Patricia Rozema
Director: Patricia Rozema
Screenwriter: Ann Peacock
Producer: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Lisa Gillan, Ellen L. Brothers, Julie Goldstein
Composer: Joseph Vitarelli
Studio: Picturehouse
Reviews for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
I predict with great confidence that the big-screen debut of the American Girl brand will be a resounding success. This rosy prediction is based partly on the fact that Kit Kittredge is a solidly made movie...and partly on the fact that the America
Cheesier than the macaroni viewers ate before the movie, and makes you wonder why so many non-Pixar, G-rated movies talk at their demo instead of to them.
[I continue] to cling stubbornly to the dowdy notion that kids deserve better than a sugarcoated portrait of our past or, for that matter, our present.
The packaging looks good for the most part. But there's still some assembly required.
The overall glow remains golden, of course. But with a dash of realism and more than a little intelligence, Kit Kittredge becomes a kiddie film that's worth an adult ticket, too.
As the resourceful Depression-era girl, Breslin gives yet another solid performance, compensating for an old-fashioned film that's not particularly well-directed by Rozema, who shows problems with tone and mood, veering toward the obvious and sentimental
Plucky, likable and determined to succeed, much like its heroine, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is a throwback to the kinds of movies they don’t make anymore.
By all means, teach our children about America’s storied past, but don’t use it to put lipstick on a narrative pig bred for selling bacon.
In a Barbie world, American Girl Kit Kittredge is a hero, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is heroic.
The movie and its pint-size star clear all hurdles subtly and valiantly with a surplus of charm, saving Kit Kittredge: American Girl from blandness and turning it into one of the summer’s most pleasing surprises.
[T]he first two-thirds of Kit Kittredge often resembles Spike Lee's underrated Crooklyn or even Fellini's Amarcord as a memory piece that mixes sentimentality and warmth with cruelty and heartbreak.
At a time when kidflicks have turned raucous and crude, its inoffensive sweetness makes it a positively endearing throwback.
Younger girls will probably love Kit's antics and their parents won't find it too painful an experience, but it's still only a serviceable and fairly mediocre family film at best.
For a G-rated film, Kit Kittredge's profound insight into the breakdown of society and families during the Depression and the country's subsequent rebirth is surprising.
High production values, and a cast that includes Joan Cusack and Stanley Tucci, elevate the movie above its after-school-special limitations.
Latest News for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
October 27, 2008:
RT on DVD: Zombie Strippers, Meet Kit Kittredge!
For the week leading up to All Hallow's Eve, there's a surprising dearth of new horror releases hitting DVD. Rest assured, though, titillation and scares can be found in a trio... More...
October 22, 2008:
A gem of a girl power tale for audiences of all genders, big and small, about a diminutive pre-feminist with a nose for news and an aversion to glass ceilings and the word 'no'. ![]()
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July 06, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Hancock shows some attitude at the box office
Despite a critical panning, Hancock scores at the Box Office. More...
July 04, 2008:
Review Revue: Kit Kittredge Edges Hancock in Battle for Critics' Hearts
This week, box office dynamo Will Smith goes head to head with tweener tyke Abigail Breslin. But is Hancock's reluctant superhero routine any match for the intrepid adventures... More...
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