Raising Helen

March 5, 2005 - A 2004 romantic comedy from director Garry Marshall. Starring Kate Hudson, John Corbett and Joan Cusack. Smaller roles go to Felicity Huffman, Helen Mirren and Hector Elizondo. Paris Hilton makes a cameo.

Hudson plays Helen Harris, an up-and-comer in the world of high-fashion. She's an assistant to Dominique (Mirren), the head of one of New York's top modeling agencies. It's clear that Helen's got it going on and is destined for big things.

Until, that is, her favorite big sister (Huffman) and brother-in-law get wiped out by a tractor trailer. Seems big sis wants Helen to raise the kids. That doesn't make middle sister and supermom Jenny (Cusack) too happy, but she goes along.

So, Helen packs up the kids, moves to Queens, and enrolls them in a Lutheran school (so they can all stay together) run by the hunky and single Pastor Dan (Corbett).

Then, it's time for Helen to go back to work. But, she commits a fashion faux pas by taking the kids to a fashion show. Then, she lets the kindergartners paint up a supermodel's face with magic markers. Helen gets fired. Thanks to her neighbor, she gets a job as a receptionist at a used car lot and manages to sell a lime green car that no one else could sell.

Overall review: ** Helen says "yes" to dating Pastor Dan, learns to say "no" to the kids and eventually gets a promotion from Dominique. Hudson and Corbett are easy to watch, and the movie had some cute moments. But, it seemed disjointed: Here's the part where Helen sulks about losing her job; here's the part where Helen starts seeing Pastor Dan; here's the part where Helen succeeds at her new job; here's the part where Helen can't deal with the kids so she turns to sister Jenny to put the smackdown on them. This movie had a lot of parts which didn't quite make a coherent whole. Still, it leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy.