American Girl Hits the Big Screen in Kit Kittredge, Hopefully Not for the Last Time

When I was about ten years old, I fell in love with the American Girl company. First I read the books, and then I sent away for the catalogs, which I would rapturously peruse for hours, studying each of the dolls from various historical periods and marveling at all the intricate props and costumes available for purchase. My level of obsession was high enough that when Christmas arrived, I received Samantha, a Victorian orphan living with her wealthy grandmother, along with the glasses meant for World War II-era Molly and the Santa Lucia dress belonging to Kirsten, a Swedish immigrant living on the frontier in the mid-1800s. At that time, those were the only three girls in the collection. Now that number has increased to nine. One of the newbies is Kit, whose books take place during the 1930s. Though I hadn't read any of the stories pertaining to her, I trust the quality of the American Girl franchise and was looking forward to watching Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, the first American Girl movie to be released in theaters rather than on television.

Kit, a plucky ten-year-old who dreams of being a reporter, is played by Abigail Breslin, and she's only one of the big names in this charming piece of historical fiction. Others include the dashing Chris O'Donnell as Kit's doting dad Jack, who leaves town to search for work after he is laid off early in the film; the explosive Wallace Shawn as Mr. Gibson, a newspaper editor who sees reporter potential in Kit but isn't about to print one of her stories unless it genuinely wows him; Joan Cusack as eccentric mobile librarian Miss Bond; Stanley Tucci as Jefferson Berk, a charismatic magician with a ridiculous mustache; and Colin Mochrie of Whose Line Is It, Anyway? as a kindly hobo Kit and her friends encounter in a settlement just outside of town.

The context of the tale is the Great Depression, and the situations may ring all too true for many of the children watching. Job loss is rampant, and many of those accustomed to extravagant living find themselves having to drastically alter their lifestyles in order to scrape by. Kit's compassionate mother, Margaret (Julia Ormond), copes by opening her home to boarders. She also hires on Will (Max Thieriot), a teenage transient with a strong work ethic, in exchange for food. Kit's home becomes a place of constant activity, and she and her loyal friends, wealthy Ruthie (Madison Davenport) and destitute Stirling (Zach Mills), are always on the lookout for a promising lead that could win her that much-desired publication.

There's adventure aplenty in this wholesome tale, which encourages generosity, determination and tolerance. It's rare these days to see a G-rated movie, especially a live-action one; Kit Kittredge feels like a throwback to the glory days of family-friendly films. I would certainly consider it appropriate for children and adults to watch together; the movie is likely to entertain as well as educate viewers of all ages. Ann Peacock's script, based in part on the books written by Valerie Tripp, is full of fun little twists that keep even adults guessing. All the clues are laid out so that the audience can draw the correct conclusions, but they are subtle enough that if you'd rather just go along for the ride and be surprised, the solutions to various mysteries won't necessarily jump right out at you.

I was impressed by every aspect of this movie, from the excellent cast to the clever plotting and the attention to detail with the costumes and props. I especially loved Kit's tree house and the cart that she uses to sell eggs later in the movie. Although I've been a fan of American Girl for many years now, I found this movie even better than I expected. Nothing about it suggested to me that it should have been put on television like its predecessors; if anything, it made me wonder if perhaps the earlier films should have gotten the theater treatment as well. I'm eager to investigate that matter, and I hope that, although Kit didn't make much of a splash at the box office, she won't be the last of the American Girls to hit the big screen.

101 Dalmatians Meets Air Bud in Air Buddies

A few months ago, I watched Snow Buddies, the most recent in a series of films that started with Air Bud. While that first movie and its immediate sequels are about an unusually athletic golden retriever, the focus shifts to his pups in Air Buddies. Although the original dog remains involved, this might almost be called a new series. Though Snow Buddies stands fairly well on its own, Air Buddies, which I saw the other day, is the movie that establishes the personalities of the pups, so if you're inclined to watch the Buddies film, it's probably best to start with this one.

Air Buddies introduces viewers to Buddy (Tom Everett Scott) and Molly's (Molly Shannon) brood, which includes spunky Rosebud (Abigail Breslin), messy Mudbud (Spencer Fox), gluttonous Budderball (Josh Flitter), athletic B-Dawg (Skyler Gisondo) and meditative Bud-dha (Dominic Scott Kay). As the movie begins, the five rowdy pups are causing big headaches for their owners and especially their long-suffering nanny. It's time to break the pups up, and so begins an extensive process to find perfect new owner for each of the puppies. Though young Noah (Slade Pearce) is reluctant to let the puppies go, his dad (Richard Karn) is sure the time is right. The pups have similar reservations, however, and when the list is completed, they decide to run away rather than be split up.

In the process of running away, they meet up with a pair of goony thieves sent to kidnap Buddy. So it is that they inadvertently lead their parents right into the thugs' trap, leading to a story that in many ways mirrors 101 Dalmatians, with the pups in pursuit of the parents instead of the other way around. (The debt this movie owes to that animated classic is acknowledged in a scene at a drive-thru theater in which 101 Dalmatians is playing.) The stakes are lower in this case, since the would-be possessor of Buddy wants him to amuse his son, not to turn him into a fur coat. The only moderately frightening villain is the thieves' boss, Selkirk Tander (Holmes Osborne), who threatens to feed his lackeys to his tiger if they fail in their mission, but that never feels like a very real possibility. Denning (Paul Rae) and Grim (Trevor Wright) are every bit as ridiculous as Horace and Jasper, though they lack those great English accents. Rest assured, though, they take more than their fair share of pratfalls as they struggle to carry out their task.

Director Robert Vince shares writing credits with Anna McRoberts and Phil Hanley, and none of them have too much to brag about, since most of the dialogue, especially that delivered by the puppies, is pretty groan-worthy. All of the pups seem like they're trying too hard to sound hip, which results in some of what they have to say sounding dated after just a couple of years. Denning and Grim, meanwhile, are hopelessly dim, though this does make for a lot of laughs as long as you don't dwell on their inordinate foolishness.

Interestingly, my favorite characters in Snow Buddies were the sheriff and his canine deputy, and that's the case here as well, though they are different characters. In this case, they're played by Patrick Cranshaw and Don Knotts, both of whom capped long careers with this film. Knotts voices a bloodhound named Sniffer, who has a more active role in tracking down the pups' parents than his boss does. While both are comical characters, they also bring a sense of wisdom and integrity to the movie. I also enjoyed the always-amusing Wallace Shawn in his voice role as a take-charge billy goat who helps the pups, and Michael Clarke Duncan is appropriately imposing as a mentorly wolf who guides them in the last stage of their journey.

Air Buddies is not a great movie by any stretch. It's derivative, corny and filled with juvenile references to bodily functions. But kids who can't get enough of movies about puppies will probably enjoy it, and long-time fans of Knotts or Cranshaw may be interested in seeing their final roles. It's not up there with 101 Dalmatians, but anyone who likes that movie is likely to get a laugh or two out of this harmless kiddie flick.

Aaron Eckhart Dazzles in No Reservations

This summer, Pixar brought Ratatouille to the big screen, and I've been itching all summer to make the trek to Tinseltown to watch rats preparing gourmet meals. I haven't seen it yet, but yesterday I got a sneak preview of another film involving the love of food.

No Reservations, a rare PG-rated live action film, is the benign tale of Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones), an exceptional chef at an upscale Bleecker Street restaurant who has plenty of reservations. Her life is ordered by rules, and she thinks these restrictions are helping her to live a more fulfilled life. Her boss Paula (Patricia Clarkson) isn't so sure, and neither is the hapless therapist (Bob Balaban) Kate is seeing at her request, but Kate doesn't really begin to doubt it herself until two events turn her life upside-down.

While on her way to visit Kate, her sister dies in a car crash, leaving Kate with the responsibility of caring for her young daughter, the sullen Zoe (Abigail Breslin). Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Kate feels threatened by the arrival of cheerful, opera-loving sous chef Nick (Aaron Eckhart), who claims that his whole reason for applying for this job was the opportunity to work with her. Undeterred by her icy reception, he continues to let his goodwill seep into the rest of the staff until a turning point occurs when Kate brings Zoe along to work with her one day and Nick charms her with his ability to get Zoe to smile and to eat dinner.

Kate doesn't have the foggiest idea how to be a guardian to this girl, but once she lets Nick into her good graces, she finds a powerful ally in giving Zoe a sense of normalcy and security. But how long can she keep her tendency toward jealousy at bay when Nick begins putting down especially deep roots in her kitchen? Will competitive ambition ruin this fledgling relationship?

No Reservations is a pretty typical romantic film, with touches of comedy and a large focus on the bond that develops between Zoe and Kate, as well as Zoe and Nick. It's refreshingly chaste, with very little profanity and nothing more intense than a couple of French kisses, and a jaunty opera-heavy score sets a nice, mostly light-hearted tone.

Zeta-Jones and Breslin both bring an appropriate solemnity to the film that blossoms into joy as they begin to rebuild their lives around each other. Balaban manages to make his brief, dry appearances enormously entertaining, and Bryan F. O'Bourne plays the role of smitten neighbor Sean with understated sweetness. But it's Eckhart who really steals the show, with childlike, guileless enthusiasm. And his Viggo Mortensen-esque looks only sweeten the deal...

You won't find a terribly complex plot in this family-friendly film directed by Scott Hicks. You'll see most of the key scenes coming long before they happen. Though the movie begins with a death and includes a hefty dose of romance, it's unlikely to plumb your emotional depths very far. But it's the sort of flick that is just the ticket for a pleasant evening out, and I have no reservations about recommending it.