Pettigrew Will Grow On You
From an advance screening: Despite a weak title, MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY was a surprisingly GOOD little comedy set in England just before the start of World War II. A lady who?s lost her job (Frances McDormand playing Miss Pettigrew) tries to get a position with an American singer Delysia Lafosse (played by bubbly and perky Amy Adams) in the home of a club owner whom she?s ?triple-timing? in trying to get ahead as an entertainer. The tag-line for the film is, ?Every woman will have her day?. That?s just somewhat accurate, in that -- almost by accident --, Miss Pettigrew helps out numerous people she meets along the way as she pretends to be a ?social secretary? for Delysia. There?s a bunch of interesting juxta-positioning of the dowdy & the super-rich, the deceitful and the sincere, in the midst of the machinations and music. It?s a low-key (rather than slapstick) type of comedy, with most of the humor flowing out of the cir***stances rather than clever banter. 3* out of 4.