Hollywood Product - Raising Helen
Genre: Chick flick
Opens: May 28
The pitch: Manhattan club-hopper Helen Harris (Kate Hudson) gets tied to the Mommy track when she becomes legal guardian to her deceased sister's kids, Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), Henry (Spencer Breslin) and Sarah (Abigail Breslin). Sort of like Baby Boom. Or Jersey Girl. Or Three Men and a Baby. Or ...
Money shots: The kids disrupt the runway models at a fancy fashion show. Helen's feisty neighbor (Sakina Jaffrey) chases off partying teens with a baseball bat. Helen's uptight, super-mom sister (scene-stealer Joan Cusack) reads Audrey's sleazy boyfriend the riot act. The most genuinely warm moment comes early, when Helen joins the three hiding kids in the closet at their parents' wake.
Fashion statements: The opening credits follow Helen in her black, high-heeled boots by day, black pumps by night. Cusack favors floral-patterned outfits and a short "mom" haircut. Audrey's prom dress is festooned with pink crepe that appears to be leftover gym decorations.
Hit single: The film puts John Hiatt's "Feels Like Rain" and Joan Osborne's cover of Carole King and Paul Williams' "Stand Back" at the fore, but shows the most affection for Devo's "Whip It," the favorite song of Helen and her late sister.
Best line: When the kids' principal, Pastor Dan ("Sex and the City's" John Corbett) asks Helen out, she exclaims, "I made you give up your vows?" not realizing that Lutheran pastors can date.
Cameos: Paris Hilton appears twice as "Amber" in chic locales, but she probably didn't know she was playing a character. Director Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman, The Princess Bride) casts fave character actors Hector Elizondo and Larry Miller in comic bit parts at a used car lot.
Product placement: Helen and the kids look for a new apartment via New York realtor Corcoran.com. One of Helen's model friends ends up on the cover of Elle. Helen's modeling-agency boss (Helen Mirren) informs Sarah that her "nose boogie" looks like "Prada green."
Extras: In a welcome surprise, a cartoon short precedes the feature: "Lorenzo," about a gluttonous pussycat bedeviled by its own fluffy tail. It's weird, but the animation wittily resembles French cabaret poster art.
The bottom line: As Helen evolves from "fun aunt" to firm mom, Raising Helen doesn't sugarcoat the financial and disciplinary challenges of parenting. But Marshall sets a sluggish pace and waffles on the whole "You can't have it all" theme. And Hudson smiles no matter what happens in her scenes, suggesting that her mother Goldie Hawn only handed down the "cute" DNA. Somebody's mom left her job half-finished.
