‘Nanny’ returns with wholesome humor
After seeing a string of what I would refer to as
”
guy
”
movies
–
”
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World,
”
”
Dinner with Schmucks
”
and the
”
Other Guys
”
– it was refreshing to see a movie that can be described only as
wholesome.
‘Nanny’ returns with wholesome humor
After seeing a string of what I would refer to as “guy” movies – “Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World,” “Dinner with Schmucks” and the “Other Guys” – it was refreshing to see a movie that can be described only as wholesome.
“Nanny McPhee Returns” is a movie directed at the younger set, but it’s funny enough and cute enough that adults will appreciate it, too. The film is based on characters created by author Christianna Brand and the screenplay was written by Emma Thompson, who also stares in the title role.
The movie is a sequel to the original, “Nanny McPhee,” which starred Colin Firth, Thomas Sangster and Kelly Macdonald, as well as Thompson. Three of those four actors were involved in “Love Actually,” so maybe they already had some chemistry going. I saw the 2005 movie on DVD and remember thinking it was delightful.
In it, Firth is a widowed father of seven very badly behaved children who have driven away 17 nannies. But when Nanny McPhee (Thompson) shows up, the very unattractive woman is not so easy to scare off. Thompson, who generally looks lovely in most films, dons a costume and makeup in the movies that makes her look awful.
In the latest film, there is again a parent who is in distress. Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) lives alone with her three children in the English countryside. Her husband is away fighting in the army during a war. Her children are actually fairly well behaved – until two city cousins show up to stay with them. The family’s issues are also complicated because they are struggling to maintain the family farm without dad and Uncle Phil (Rhys Ifans) is plotting to steal the farm out from under them to pay off a gambling debt.
Norman (Asa Butterfield), Megsie (Lil Woods) and Vincent (Oscar Steer) are generally well-behaved children. They do all sorts of chores around the house while their mother works at a store in town with a shop keeper (Maggie Smith) who is going a little senile.
Of course, the cousins Cyril (Eros Vlahos) and Celia (Rosie Taylor-Ritson) arrive early while Isabel is still at work. The two are exceedingly unhappy to be away from London as they approach the poo- and mud-filled farm in the middle of nowhere. The first thing they do when they are forced out of their chauffeured car is insult their cousins’ home and clothing.
Soon the five children have all turned into barbarians and are running around the house, fighting with one another. After a stressful day at work, that is what Isabel finds when she returns home. She is at a loss about how to stop the children’s bad behavior.
But soon enough she has some help when Nanny McPhee arrives on her front porch. Nanny McPhee explains that she is an army nanny and has been dispatched to help out at the home. Isabel is reluctant to let Nanny McPhee in, but eventually she relents. Nanny McPhee goes to work right away, with a magic cane she carries with her. Soon the children have stopped fighting, though Isabel has no idea how Nanny McPhee did it.
Later in the evening as the children prepare for bed, Nanny McPhee explains how things will work.
“When you need me, but don’t want me I must stay,” she said. “When you want me, but no longer need me I must go.”
She tells the children they have five lessons to learn, and they’ve already completed the first lesson – stop fighting.
Nanny McPhee’s lessons are unconventional, but soon the children are getting along with each other and working together to solve problems. One of their first challenges is finding the seven little piglets the family has planned to sell to a local farmer to make the monthly payment on the tractor – without the tractor they will be forced to sell the farm because they won’t be able to finish the harvest.
Somehow the piglets, which are quite adorable on screen, get out of the barn in the middle of the night. The five kids have to find a way to catch them all – and Nanny McPhee uses her magic to make things a little more complicated, forcing all five of them to strategize together.
The movie is boosted by small appearances by Smith, Ewan McGregor and Ralph Fiennes. But it really is the main cast of characters that made the movie worthwhile. It was just an enjoyable, family-friendly movie.
