Remember when people used curse words that didn't directly allude to genitals and excrement? Probably not, but in any case, "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" is a cacophony of "oh my," "dash-it-all" and "jeepers," much to the delight of its sparse but elderly audience. But rest assured, there are still phallic jokes.
"Pettigrew" is director Bharat Nalluri's first attempt at a movie that people would have to pay to see. It seems strange that the director of the 2006 made-for-TV movie "Tsunami: The Aftermath" decided to direct a chick flick aimed at an aging demographic, but perhaps there are other forces at play. Maybe the elderly are as reliable of movie-goers as they are voters, so economically this movie might make sense.
Cinematically, however, it is simply unpleasant. It's like watching a movie performed in a Monty Python-style falsetto, with the dial turned just one notch below hilarious.
Frances McDormand, whose accent is the source of the Monty Python reference above, plays Guinevere Pettigrew a character who oozes a sense of imposing morality after having been fired from her last three jobs for being too uptight. Unable to find work, Pettigrew wanders onto the streets, where she quickly bumps into a charming ex-con with facial hair from the future. Startled by his criminal record, she abandons all of her worldly possessions on the pavement. Driven to desperation, she steals another nanny's job and shows up at the door of Delysia Lafosse. And dash-it-all, Delysia is a handful!
Lafosse is an upcoming actress and professional player, who is attempting to sleep her way to the top of showbiz. The two quickly bond and form an Odd Couple-style duo. Delysia teaches Pettigrew that her inner beauty would best be expressed by a top-of-the-line couture outfit and expensive makeup. Meanwhile, Pettigrew teaches Lafosse that intercourse is not just for advancing one's career, but can also be used to get free rides to New York.
Nalluri aims to mold his female protagonists as outsiders in this mess of upper-class decadence, but he ends up portraying the exact opposite. While they verbally disagree with the shallowness of high society, they also freely indulge in all of the finest shopping, luxury flats and big-band parties that it has to offer. It's sort of like a music video, where someone shouts through the window of a luxury car, from behind designer sunglasses, that money can't buy happiness. The director also sets this all in pre-war Britain, which serves as both an attempt at historical portent and a crutch for character development. The bombers presumably trigger a Heideggarian realization of their near-death situation, which allows them to start living their lives to the fullest.
The characters are also meant to be seen as savvy players, capable of manipulating the men surrounding them in a sleek, film-noir manner, but the movie doesn't come across this way. Instead of the women seeming savvy, the men just seem unbelievably dumb. In one scene, Phil, one of Delysia's suitors, expresses doubts about her fidelity, and Pettigrew is able to ameliorate his worries by just saying otherwise. No tricks or subterfuge, just straight-up denial. Who wrote this script?
Another one of the suitors is a minor character who seems to have been written into the movie just so he can come home early and almost catch Delysia with Phil. The third suitor is the aforementioned criminal with anachronistic facial hair, who has no money but totally loves Delysia and plays the piano. And thus, Delysia's choice for a suitor is made apparent.
Overall, "Pettigrew" is exactly what one would expect from a made-for-TV director and a stock script. Does Hollywood have a romantic-comedy generator? British accent: check. Struggling but materialistic women: check. Men to solve the protagonist's problems: check. If, for whatever reason, all of this seems appealing, it would be an appropriate movie to see with a mother or grandmother.
