Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008)

London, 1939. Guinevere Pettigrew (Francis McDormand) is a governess with no one to govern. She also has nothing to eat. In desperation, she steals a client card from her agency and shows up at the apratment of Delysia LaFosse (Amy Adams), a young singer and actress who's looking for a social secretary. She's also looking for a part in a new play that's being produced, and she's sleeping with the producer, Phil (Tom Payne) in order to get it. The only problem is, she's doing her interview in the apartment of her lover, Nick (Mark Strong). He also owns the nightclub where Delysia performs. He's also a tad bit on the shady side, and a whole lot on the jealous side. Miss Pettigrew scoots the bewildered Phil out the door and cleans up the apartment just as Nick walks through the door. Delysia is taken by the frumpy Miss Pettigrew. She hires her on the spot and gives her a complete makeover. All Miss Pettigrew wants, though, is a good dinner. Meanwhile, Michael (Lee Pace) enters the picture. He's Delysia's former boyfriend, and he wants her back. Delysia loves him, but she wants that part in that play too. While Miss Pettigrew tries to help Delysia sort out her love quadrangle, she starts to fall in love with a lingerie designer named Joe (Ciaran Hinds). After a wild party at Nick's apartment and a brawl between Michael and Nick during an air raid, everything works out the way it's supposed to. Happy ending.

Yeah, that's what I like about these kinds of movies. They have happy endings. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a wonderful little film, one of those that managed to slip under the radar, and miss most of the multiplexes. One reviewer called it a "mediocre film." I couldn't disagree more. This is a fun, snappy little comedy, much like the great screwball comedies of the 1930s. I'd rank it right up there with My Man Godfrey and His Girl Friday. The action moves quickly along, with never a dull moment, and the dialogue is witty. Amy Adams is wonderful as the fickle and irrepressible Delysia trying to decide between true love on the one hand and fame and fortune on the other. Frances McDormand is incredible as the dowdy Miss Pettigrew, and her transformation into Delysia's elegant social secretary is great. There are also some wonderfully poignant scenes between Miss Pettigrew and Joe, as they commiserate with each other about the coming war. The sets are great, as are the props and costumes. Everything is 1930s; there's nothing out of place. And the movie is filmed in luscious color, with the camera taking full advantage of the gorgeous art deco world of 1930s London. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a delightful little RomCom that will put a smile on everyone's face.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is rated PG-13.