Nanny McPhee

Nanny McPhee is a fantastic movie for children, which probably won't teach them to behave better, but will definitely entertain them for a few hours.

Recently widowed Cedric Brown (Colin Firth) has seven extremely clever yet horridly behaved children, who expend great amounts of effort in order to run off every nanny whom he hires to care for them. He has no time to spend with them either, as he is deeply in debt and in danger of losing the house and being thrown into debtors' prison--somehow this is due to his wife having recently died although it's completely unclear as to why that should cause him to be suddenly poor. Nevertheless, he must work all day and night, and to make matters worse, he can't seem to find a nanny who can withstand his children's antics. Fortunately, a magical and shockingly ugly version of Marry Poppins shows up one evening, along with the requisite thunder and lightening of course, and promises to teach the children how to behave. This Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) is a startling person indeed, certainly enough so that I would have behaved instantly at the mere sight of her. But the Brown kids are made of braver stuff, and they see her as merely another opportunity for endless pranks intended to drive her off. Nanny McPhee, however, is intent on forcing the children to behave and display proper manners under threat of magic. It's so simple really--do as Nanny McPhee says, or she'll turn you into a newt, or something similarly unpleasant.

Meanwhile, Great Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) insists that the ill-behaved children need a woman's influence, so she informs Cedric that she will cut off his inheritance unless he marries someone by the end of the month. The reasoning, apparently, being that it is better for the children to be split up and put into workhouses rather than left to stay at home with their loving yet poor father. As the children begin to learn simple, basic manners under Nanny McPhee's magical teachings, Cedric searches in desperation for a woman whom he can marry. It is glaringly obvious within the first five minutes to literally every single person in the theater that he will eventually marry the beautiful, sweet, scullery maid Evangeline (Kelly Macdonald,) once he learns to look past her social status.

There are, of course, the various slapstick pranks and tricks that the children plan and execute throughout the movie, as they initially resist Nanny McPhee and her infernal magic walking stick. Other challenges arise with the introduction of Cedric's chosen bride, Mrs. Quickly (Celia Imrie), the epitome of a cruel stepmother whom the children decide must be dispatched with as well. Of course, in the process of planning Mrs. Quickly's exit, they are surprised to discover that Nanny McPhee might not be so bad afterall, and they might do well to listen to her.

This was definitely a good movie for children, and I found it to be fun to watch as well. It was ridiculously predictable, but the lack of surprises didn't ruin the story in the slightest. Much of the film consists of the many pranks that the children pull in order to achieve a specific goal, and all are silly and fairly innocent. There were many moments of humor, and even more so for the kids in the audience; but overall this movie was easy to watch and quite harmless. If you're going to spend atrocious amounts of money by taking your kids to see a movie, then this is the one to pick. You definitely won't be wasting your money.