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Movies / Upcoming / Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

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Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)

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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
[More]

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

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Reviews for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

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81 - 97 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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It's all message, no tension.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
06/19/08
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

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

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
06/19/08
Jessica Reaves
Jessica Reaves
Chicago Tribune

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.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
06/19/08
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

[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.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
06/19/08
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

The packaging looks good for the most part. But there's still some assembly required.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
06/19/08
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press

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.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
06/19/08
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Newsday

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

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/18/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/18/08
Lael Loewenstein
Lael Loewenstein
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
06/18/08
Stephen Garrett
Stephen Garrett
Time Out New York

In a Barbie world, American Girl Kit Kittredge is a hero, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is heroic.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
06/18/08
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

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.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
06/18/08
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

[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.

Full Review Source: MSNBC | comment Comment
06/17/08
Alonso Duralde
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC

At a time when kidflicks have turned raucous and crude, its inoffensive sweetness makes it a positively endearing throwback.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
06/17/08
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

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.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
06/17/08
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

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.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
06/15/08
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

High production values, and a cast that includes Joan Cusack and Stanley Tucci, elevate the movie above its after-school-special limitations.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
06/14/08
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Breslin is sparkling in the lead role.

Full Review Source: CinemaBlend.com | comment Comment
06/13/08
Katey Rich
Katey Rich
CinemaBlend.com
 
 
81 - 97 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5
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Latest News for Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

October 27, 2008: RT on DVD: Zombie Strippers, Meet Kit Kittredge!
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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
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