Raising Helen: The Pollyanna diaries

Garry Marshall again proves preternaturally optimistic with Raising Helen

By By Anthony Del Valle

What a fortunate world Gary Marshall lives in.

If you know his movies or TV work (The Princess Diaries, Pretty Woman, "Murphy Brown"), you know the director--and sometimes writer and actor--lives in a land where serious problems are quickly, easily resolved by heavy doses of humor and tears. And the problems wind up not so serious. Hoodlums, slutty teenagers, unruly kids--they're all underneath just adorable little urchins waiting to be hugged.

The script to Raising Helen, by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler, gives us hotshot Manhattan modeling agent Helen Harris (Kate Hudson) who winds up inheriting three children (Hayden Panettiere, Spencer and Abigail Breslin). But Helen don't know nothin' 'bout raisin' kids. And her jealous sister (the always funny Joan Cusack) thinks Helen oughta turn them over to her. To make matters worse, Helen is fired by her bitch boss (the always intriguing Helen Mirren) and the kids are frying her brain. Will she be forced to give up the children she's grown to love? Will she find a man to cuddle with even though she's a busy mommy? And will she get back her prestigious job?

You don't need to ask these questions, of course. In Garry's world, a single parent doesn't worry about how to pay the rent after being fired. She just finds another great-paying job. And who takes care of the kids? Well, of course, she just happens to have a neighbor (Sakina Jaffrey) who adores baby-sitting. And how about finding a man? No prob. When our heroine enrolls the kids in school, the hot principal (the ever-hunky Big Fat Greek Wedding heartthrob John Corbett) immediately falls in love with her.

Marshall's work contains a craftsman's professionalism. But his continual reduction of serious issues to a situation-comedyland mentality is moronic. I'd love to see him make a movie about life in 2004 Iraq. Wouldn't it be a kick to meet his version of all those adorable prisoners and suicide bombers?