MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY — *** — Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Lee Pace; rated PG-13 (vulgarity, profanity, brief partial nudity, violence, brief sex)
In "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day," Amy Adams plays a would-be starlet who helps save an unemployed woman (Frances McDormand) from her otherwise humdrum existence.
That's a bit ironic, because Adams is part of a delightful acting ensemble that helps save the film from its otherwise humdrum direction.
This pre-World War II period comedy is based on the Winifred Watson novel. Frances McDormand stars as the title character, Guinevere Pettigrew, a London governess who's just been fired from her latest job (she was insubordinate).
The temp agency is unable to find work for Guinevere, though she was lucky enough to overhear a telephone conversation with Delysia Lafosse (Adams), a stage actress who's badly in need of a personal assistant.
Delysia is trying to balance time with all her suitors — who include a young stage producer (Tom Payne), a shady nightclub owner (Mark Strong) and Michael (Lee Pace), a penniless piano player and her one true love.
Guinevere is willing to do that for her, but has her own romantic entanglements. She's found herself in the middle of a spat between clothing store owner Edythe Dubarry (Shirley Henderson) and her fiance, designer Joe (Ciaran Hinds), who's taken an unexpected interest in the painfully honest newcomer.
Filmmaker Bharat Nalluri isn't sure what to do with this promising material. His pacing is a bit sluggish and his uninspired direction undercuts some of David Magee and Simon Beaufoy's jokes and dialogue, which read funnier than they're played here.
Luckily, he does have Adams, who at times appears to be channeling both Jean Harlow and Marilyn Monroe. Her winning performance is further evidence — like we needed any after her turns in both "Enchanted" and "Junebug" — that hers is a star on the rise.
A lot of actresses might have shrunk from the challenge of matching her performance, but McDormand is terrific. And her British accent is subtle enough to work.
"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" is rated PG-13 for suggestive language and references, occasional profanity, brief partial male and female nudity, some brief violence (a scuffle, including fisticuffs), and a brief sex scene. Running time: 92 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com