Screwball missing

>> Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
is charming but not exactly funny

by MARK SLUTSKY

If only charm were enough. Were it so, you could give Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day a pass—high marks, even. It’s got a warmly-drawn and decorated period setting, namely London in the 1930s at the dawn of WWII, as recreated by director Bharat Nalluri in England’s famed Ealing Studios.

The cast is hardly lacking in appeal—you couldn’t ask for a nicer set of actors than Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciaran Hinds and Shirley Henderson. But for its admirable attempt to recreate the rhythm and madcap antics of a period screwball comedy, the film is missing something. It’s missing the comedy.

McDormand plays the just-fired governess of the title, strong-willed and a little inflexible, it seems—no Mary Poppins. When her employment agency refuses to refer her to another client, she, desperate, sneaks her way into a job as “Social Secretary” to the glamorous, batty Delysia Lafosse (Adams), an aspiring actress juggling three men.

There’s the young theatre impresario (Tom Payne) who’s got a plum role on the line; the wealthy, arrogant nightclub owner (Mark Strong) whose penthouse Adams frolics in; and finally, the poor pianist (Lee Pace), who is of course her true love. In the course of one day, McDormand has to sort out all of her entanglements, plus spare a little time for some romance of her own, with lingerie designer Hinds, who’s engaged to Henderson.

There’s nothing bad to say about any of the lead performances. Adams is as fizzy as ever and the role suits her perfectly. McDormand is a bit of a downer, but she brings dimension and wit to the role. Hinds and Henderson are always a pleasure to watch (or in the latter’s case, to listen to—such a great voice). But the thing of it is, you can’t recreate the style of a period film like this and forget to make it funny.

It is a comedy, after all, and for all the attention to detail, they left out all the jokes. Watch a Carole Lombard (whose name comes up here) movie from that era and you’ll crack up, guaranteed. While reaching that standard is all but impossible, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day doesn’t even bother to try.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
opens this Friday, Mar. 7

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