KIT KITTREDGE: An American Girl

“KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL” (Abigail Breslin)

What’s more surprising than the fact that I went to see this ‘aimed at pre-teen females’ flick is that I actually liked it. Not a lot, it isn’t a ‘must see’ by any means, but as a story for young kids, it fits the bill. Too many child actors made me turn off my bad acting meter & thus, I was able to enjoy the tale more. The adult actors are fine with many recognizable faces; Stanley Tucci, Jane Krakowski (An under-rated beauty) Glenne Headly& Chris O’Donnell aren’t given a lot to do other than bring some credibility to the cast, while for some reason Joan Cusack, as a ‘whacky’ books on wheels driver I found to be tiresome – seen her in this type of role much too often & she just kinds of sleepwalks her way thru it; “Yeah, I’ve delivered lines like these a hundred times, just let me do it like I always have & let’s move on the next project” type of attitude prevailed, & I have enjoyed her work in the past.
As Kit Kittredge, Abigail Breslin is a cute, spunky little girl with eyes full of wonder – she looks every bit the part of the ‘All American (little) Girl’. She’s so adorable & perfectly matched to this role, it is hard to criticize her acting abilities; she is after all,
just a child. But if she’s going to be mentioned in the same breath as Dakota Fanning,
she’d better work on those acting chops because as of now, little Abigail, cute as she is, is no Dakota Fanning.
Set in Cincinnati during the Depression, Kit watches her unemployed father (O’Donnell)
board a bus to Chicago in search of a job. Her mother (Julia Ormond) moves Kit into the attic so they can take in boarders to help pay the bills. A magician (Tucci) a dance instructor (Krakowski) one of Kit’s schoolmates & his mother (Headly) move in, along with Cusack’s whacky book peddler.
The story concerns the ‘hobo problem’ developed by the increasing amount of jobless individuals that become homeless & sometimes must stoop to steal to feed their loved ones. A young lad appears with his much younger buddy at the Kittredge home looking for a ‘work for food’ deal. When Mrs. Kittredge’s strong box full of her and the boarders’ valued possessions is stolen, the hobo boy becomes the prime suspect. Hopeful journalist Kit sets out with her friends to prove his innocence. Kind of a Nancy Drew story for the pre-teen set, it is charming in its simplicity, yet at the same time quite depressing as well (Being set during the ‘Depress’ion doesn’t make for a cheery tale)
The twists are predictable & the sap “runs like molasses in the summertime, but me, you know, I don’t hardly mind”. Anyone who can tell me what song I stole that line from gets a free cookie from John Hancock... Unless you’re a heartless curmudgeon, I think it will be difficult to not have a smile on your face after viewing this film...