DVDs: 'Miss Pettigrew' is sweet and predictable
If you think they don’t make movies like they used to, you’ll want to see the romantic comedy “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” ($29.98, Universal. Available Tuesday).
Based on a novel by Winifred Watson that was written in 1938, the whimsical film is a throwback to the movies of that era.
Oscar winner Frances McDormand stars as the disheveled Miss Guinevere Pettigrew, an out-of-work and quite hungry governess who stumbles on the opportunity to be a “social secretary” to the glamorous singer and actress Delysia Lafosse (the effervescent Amy Adams). Since, as the title suggests, this all takes place in a day, it doesn’t take long for the lovely Delysia to uncover Miss Pettigrew’s attractive looks and wise nature.
But Miss Pettigrew also helps Delysia, who is juggling three men: a rich nightclub owner (played by Mark Strong), a stage producer’s son who can get her a breakthrough role (Tom Payne) and the handsome pianist (Lee Pace from “Pushing Daisies”) who has clearly won her heart, but not her head.
Ciaran Hinds plays the lingerie designer who sees more in Miss Pettigrew than meets the eye, and Shirley Henderson (who bears an uncanny resemblance to author Watson) is great as the conniving Edythe Dubarry.
“Miss Pettigrew” is quite an old-fashioned film, a grown-up Cinderella story with multiple happy endings in which even the most unkind actions are done only to survive during war time.
The DVD has both a widescreen and full-screen version of the movie. Side 1 has the widescreen version, deleted scenes (including an opening 30 seconds or so that would have been better served staying in the film as it gave an example of why the well-meaning Miss Pettigrew was perennially unemployed) and the featurette “Miss Pettigrew’s Long Road to Hollywood,” in which the author’s son explains how his mother wrote the dialogue in her head as she did the dishes!
Flip the disc over for the full-screen version, plus a making-of feature. Both sides have a feature commentary with director Bharat Nalluri.
• The idea of people or spirits switching bodies isn’t new to cinema, but it’s usually done to comic effect in such movies as “Freaky Friday” or “The Hot Chick.” “The Secret” ($27.98, Image Entertainment, available now) is anything but funny. The exceptionally well-acted supernatural drama, a remake of the 1999 Japanese film “Himitsu,” is quite unsettling, in fact.
Lili Taylor stars as a mother whose spirit takes over the body of her daughter (terrifically played by “Juno’s” Olivia Thirlby) after the two are in an auto accident. Trapped in her daughter’s body, she desperately tries to convince her husband (David Duchovny) of her identity. She then gains insight into her daughter’s life while dealing with this impossible situation.
Before even seeing the movie, the idea of a loving wife being trapped inside her daughter’s body conjures up all sorts of uncomfortable situations. (“I go from sexual jealousy of my wife to paternal punishment of my daughter in the same scene,” Duchovny says in one of the accompanying interviews.) Thankfully, director (and actor) Vincent Perez never allows the movie to cross the line, instead putting an intriguing character study in a supernatural setting.
An eight-minute behind-the- scenes feature is a series of raw footage of the director and actors working on scenes. (After a particularly emotional scene, watch how intense Duchovny remains while others laugh.)
• The popular ABC anthology series “Masters of Science Fiction” is on DVD in a two-disc set ($29.97, Anchor Bay Entertainment, available now). The series adapted short stories by such great sci-fiauthors as Robert Heinlein and Harlan Ellison into episodes starring the likes of Terry O’Quinn (“Lost”), Sean Astin, Judy Davis and Malcolm McDowell. The set includes two episodes previously unaired episodes.
Coming Tuesday
“Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds 3D Concert” (Dis-n ey), “Nixon: The Election Year Edition” (Disney), “Prom Night” (Sony), “Recount” (HBO), “Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior” (Universal).•
