Raising Helen
(2004)
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Helen Harris (Kate Hudson) is a rising star in the New York City fashion world, just on the brink of being promoted to agent at a premiere modeling agency. The sudden death of her older sister (Felicity Huffman) and her brother-in-law shocks Helen from her exciting life of photo shoots, nightclubs, and hot dates. It brings her back to reality, a reality that includes custody of two nieces (ages 15 and five) and a 10-year-old nephew. Free-spirited Helen suddenly finds her life turned upside down. She is not only learning how to be a mother to three children, but she is also mourning the loss of her sister and brother-in-law, moving to a different borough, looking for a new career, and attracting the romantic interest of Pastor Dan (John Corbett), the principal of the kids' new Lutheran school. To complicate matters more, her surviving sister Jenny (Joan Cusack) is a Supermom in her own right who can't understand why their late sister entrusted carefree Helen with custody of the children. Garry Marshall (THE PRINCESS BRIDE, PRETTY WOMAN) directs this story about a woman who discovers what is really important when her life changes overnight. |
This is a customarily slick romantic comedy drama from the director of Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries, Garry Marshall. Perky Kate Hudson stars as a hip, carefree Manhattan model agency employee who gains an instant family when her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car crash. The three children pose problems enough, but adding to Hudson's woes is her mumsy elder sister, Joan Cusack, who resents the fact that the youngsters were not entrusted to her care. Helen Mirren features strongly as Hudson's no-nonsense boss, and John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is on hand as Pastor Dan, the potential love in Hudson's life and the head of the kids' new school. The material occasionally steers perilously close to mawkishness, but is saved from becoming total slush by moments of wry humour and by the spirited performances of Hudson and the ever-reliable Cusack.