Raising Helen
Touchstone
Availability: Now
Starring: Kate Hudson, John Corbett and Joan Cusack
The Verdict: “Helen” lacks charm, fun and anything remotely associated with a good movie.
Movie: 1 1/2 stars out of 4 stars
Extra Features: 1 1/2 stars out of 4 stars
Kate Hudson continues to dazzle the screen with her charming smile. As this film proves, charm never makes up for a formulaic script and cringe-inducing adorability.
Helen Harris (Hudson) works for a modeling agency. She locates talent, parties at clubs and brings home male models. Yet Helen’s family remains important. She attends her sister’s birthday party, and they dance to Devo’s “Whip It” in a horrifying scene of failed comedy and nauseating cuteness.
Unsurprisingly, Helen’s sister and brother-in-law die in a car wreck. Guess who gets their three children?
Not the sensible and experienced sister, Jenny (Joan Cusack), but the fast-living and hedonistic sister, Helen.
Now, have fun as you predict every plot development. For a film about unpredictable events, bitter irony can only describe the empty thrill of guessing the path of “Raising Helen.”
Lately, Hudson enjoys the artificial endeavors. Place this film beside “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “Alex and Emma.” Helen can be an interesting and likable character, yet in a few pivotal scenes, Hudson relies on whining rather than her focused tact seen in “Almost Famous.”
Sadly, the three child performers demonstrate the same one-dimensional characterization shown in countless pictures. Spencer Breslin plays the reclusive and intellectual boy obsessed with skeletons and his pet turtle; Abigail Breslin portrays the brooding baby of the family who cries when her shoes aren’t tied a certain way; and perhaps the most annoying, Hayden Panettiere depicts the rebellious, pouting adolescent with raging hormones.
Luckily, Cusack continues her work of exaggerated gestures and laughable speechmaking. She does get bogged down by an uninspiring script at times, but as she waves her long fingers and unloads ethical lessons on her niece’s moronic boyfriend, Cusack revives interest in an otherwise unworthy film.
Without a doubt, poor John Corbett looks out of place. Sure, a Lutheran pastor/bachelor sparks curiosity, but his role simply rounds out the unnecessary romance angle.
Despite the film’s many downfalls, “Raising Helen” raises intriguing questions on the woman’s role and survival in a busy world, but unjustly shoves emotions down the viewer’s throat. Whereas a mature film would allow room for contemplation, Helen becomes a torrential downpour of emotional baggage.
For instance, references to Devo’s “Whip It” pervade the entire film. This blatantly tosses around sentimentality and comes across as desperation from director Garry Marshall.
To top all this futility, all attempts at humor fall flat. In a repulsive move of slapstick, a neighbor chases partying teenagers out of Helen’s apartment with a steel baseball bat and nerve-wracking war yells.
If forced emotions, predictability, amateurish humor and overblown sentiments sound pleasing, “Raising Helen” should excite. Otherwise, assisted suicide becomes a novel idea after watching this dry tale of responsibility.
A bloopers reel features the cast having mounds of fun. Too bad the fun factor couldn’t transmit to the viewer. The deleted scenes may irritate due to the senile commentary of Garry Marshall, but Hudson performed well in a jocular scene with burned pancakes. A commentary track features Marshall and the screenwriters, and Liz Phair’s music video “Extraordinary” never surpasses the ordinary level.