Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

When the film begins, Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is out of work again and her job prospects are non-existent. However, at the employment agency she learns about a job being a personal assistant and rushes to the apartment to claim the job herself. However, she is shocked to find Dylesia (Amy Adams) to be a very strange woman with a very active sex life. While they are a very oddly mismatched pair, eventually they forge a great relationship and the film follows them through the course of 24 hours.This is a cute film with a few laughs. Amy Adams is particularly memorable but everyone in the film does a great job in this period comedy. It's not exactly brilliant or a film that will change your life, but enjoyable and worth seeing.

Purchased as a closeout DVD, I hadn't a clue about the movie other than my respect for its leading actresses. Even then, I didn't open and play it for months. An absolute delight. The NY Times likened it to French farce; I agree and would throw in English comedy of manners, reflected in the whimsical titles: little letters that dance around until everything falls into place.The acting is wonderful- an ensemble effort with excellent portrayals of slightly over-the-top characters. The intelligent, poignant but sweet writing carries the day: simple and from the heart. Direction is fast paced with quick angles and swings, ordinarily techniques I wouldn't like, but here they carry the story, rather than just leaving me dizzy. The film is well crafted and cohesive from script to music, lighting and costuming to every foot hitting its mark in tempo and on beat. A delightful period piece, there was a tear in my eye and suspension of disbelief. It is sincere storytelling that wraps you in its arms and dances every dance.Like Miss Pettigrew, I watched alone, but the film was a wonderful partner and a romantic date I shall long remember.Charming!

In 1939, when the book "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" was written, such films were cranked out by the gross. At the very best, they were directed by Howard Hawks, and they flowed along with easy wit and little time for the audience to question any plot weaknesses. At the worst, they were trite potboilers. Alas, this film apes the latter. It trots out every single "screwball romantic comedy" trope from "Dinner at Eight" to "Pillow Talk" without bringing a single new thing to the mix. So much for the plot.Amy Adams plays the equivalent of "Lorelei Lee" (and pastiches Carole Lombard and every other screwball blonde in cinematic history) turned up to eleven. She's madcap! She's ditzy! She just can't say no! Frances McDormand is a capable actress, but she attempts to conceal her faux British accent behind chewing her words, as if she's afraid to be heard clearly. So much for the two leads.With questionable acting, 2-dimensional characters and the flimsiest of all possible plots, the only thing that can save the film would be very deft direction. Alas, even that it lacks. It's always an indication of the weakness of a film when the director throws in "mood-setting music" in every scene. Such is the case here. Need the audience to get excited? Blare the rinky-dink jazz! Need them to try to care about this romance or that? Cue the sobbing strings! Heavy-handed? That doesn't even begin to describe it.There is only one group of people who could find this film appealing: women with a taste for "retro" styling whose cinematic standards have consistently been lowered to the basement floor. Anyone who appreciates sparkling, original romantic comedies will simply find it woefully lacking in every regard.

Adapted from Winifred Watson's novel by the same name and starring the talented Frances McDormand, this film is a gem. The pace was crisp & whimsical, the acting delightful, and the script full of deliciously witty banter. McDormand has the rare gift of conveying hilarity with her subtle facial expressions alone, and she uses it to perfection here.Amy Adams holds her own opposite her, hitting just the right notes with her character's requisite over-the-top theatrics & the young-girl tenderness that lurks beneath. Shirley Henderson is so good as the funny and scheming Edythe that she would have stolen the show were she not accompanied by the other two strong actresses. If you liked her in this film, be sure to see her in 'The Way We Live Now', where she also shines, but in a slightly different way! The sub-theme of WWII was absent in the book and added to the film for creative reasons, and it really worked without making the film heavy or maudlin. I also loved the soundtrack. The period sets & costumes were so gorgeous, I had to keep pausing for a longer look. Don't miss the Bonus Features on both sides of the DVD.~NN