Director, Bharat Nalluri, keeps the comedy humming while unpacking Pettigrew's sad back story.
Comment
06/07/08
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)
78
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:139
Fresh:108
Rotten:31
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: Miss Pettigrew is a breezy period comedy carried by the strong performances of Amy Adams and Frances McDormand.
Australian Theatrical Release:
May 8, 2008 Wide
US Box Office: $12,294,036
Synopsis: As in MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS and BEING JULIA, this period comedy brings wit and style to its depiction of 1930s London. Based on Winifred Watson's novel, MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY begins with... [More]
Starring: Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace, Ciaran Hinds
Director: Bharat Nalluri
Reviews for Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Top CriticAn ultra-light screwball comedy with enough charm ot make Miss Pettigrew live for at least a second viewing.
05/15/08
Top CriticThis delicious froth of an entertainment could have creaked all over the place and at times you feel it does, but Amy Adams is just magic, she lifts every role she takes on to absolutely delightful heights.
05/15/08
Top CriticApart from a reservation about the casting of Frances McDormand in the title role, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a joyous whirlwind of a grown-up fable
05/01/08
Top CriticA valentine to a by-gone era; one of the ten best films of 2008
02/27/09
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a well-acted comedy with enough old-fashioned qualities to make it an enjoyable experience for long-standing audiences.
02/02/09
The spectre of impending war hangs heavily in the background of this romantic comedy, giving it a bit more heft.
09/17/08
Period comedies are a tough act to swallow for some, but if you are on the fence at all, please make sure Miss Pettigrew lives for more than just one day."
08/27/08
There's not a lot to it really--no deep underlying message other than an exploration of women's roles in society at the time.
08/15/08
In short, Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is fluffy and forgettable, but it's also undeniably entertaining, thanks to pacey direction and delightful performances from McDormand and Adams.
08/15/08
McDormand is left trying for emotional depth in a sea of middling farce and semi-sophisticated comedy.
08/15/08
It's lucky that Amy Adams and Frances McDormand lend their best charms to Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, otherwise this featherweight Art Deco fancy might drift away like a soap bubble, and go 'pop!'
08/15/08
American Lee Pace, from TV’s Pushing Daisies, manages not one but several creditable English accents, sometimes unfortunately all in the same sentence, but whose emotional depth shows up this ball of fluff as insubstantial. Forgettable.
08/15/08
The laughs are gentle but regular and all roles are played brilliantly, especially McDormand and the gorgeous Amy Adams as Delysia. Miss Pettigrew is 90 minutes of charming escapism – a perfect movie for mums.
08/15/08
Making a film usually involves a script, a director and a budget. Miss Pettigrew, on the other hand, is so unbelievably frothy, it looks as if it was prepared using merely a bucket of warm water and some soap flakes.
08/15/08
I can't imagine it appealing much to anyone below the age of 70. It offers a stale, rather than nostalgic, whiff of brilliantine and moth-eaten antimacassars.
08/15/08
Stagey fluff, yes, but old romantics will spare a sigh for the fairytale fade-out.
08/15/08
They don't make them like that anymore? Well, no. But Miss Pettigrew makes for a fun, fluffy substitute.
08/15/08
Despite its limitations, I found it impossible to dislike this frail little tale.
08/15/08
McDormand is frankly bland and unresponsive in a role she clearly couldn't care less about; Adams's wide-eyed ingenue routine is on autopilot, and the whole thing looks like a sub-prime American TV movie.
08/15/08
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