Review of film: “MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY” -- Pettigrew Will GROW On You

Review of film:   “MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY”  --  Pettigrew Will GROW On You = 

                                       [ RATING:  7.50 of 10 stars ] 

Date Rated: Mar 7, 2008 | Rel. Date: Mar 7, 2008:

From an advance screening: Despite a weak title, “MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY” was a surprisingly GOOD little comedy set in England just before the start of World War II. A lady who’s lost her job (FRANCES MCDORMAND playing Miss Pettigrew) tries to get a position with an American singer Delysia Lafosse (played by bubbly and perky AMY ADAMS) in the home of a club owner whom she’s “triple-timing” in trying to get ahead as an entertainer…

…  The tag-line for the film is, “Every woman will have her day”.  That’s just somewhat accurate, in that -- almost by accident --, Miss Pettigrew helps out numerous people she meets along the way as she pretends to be a “social secretary” for Delysia.  There’s a bunch of interesting juxta-positioning of the dowdy & the super-rich, the deceitful and the sincere, in the midst of the machinations and music...

…  It’s a low-key (rather than slapstick) type of comedy, with most of the humor flowing out of the cir***stances rather than clever banter.