Review of Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) by Jeff K — 12 Jul 2008

As I watched, I began to wonder about how the Depression-era setting related to the fates of the perfectly capable actors who find themselves in this depressive, sub-afternoon-special affair. Stanley Tucci, Julia Ormond and Joan Cusack certainly never attained film careers equal to their apparent talent, and Chris O'Donnell hasn't gotten very far on looks alone, which as the poor (or forgotten) man's Matt Damon may be as far as he can hope to get. In the film, selling eggs represents the last station on the way to foreclosure and, perhaps, the Hooverville, if not the hobo jungle, and meeting such a fate with boldness and hope is seen to be more dignified than the shame that those in better circumstances feel it deserves. One wonders whether Tucci et al. are really so sanguine about selling eggs at this stage in their career, billed second to the lackluster (but "Oscar nominated") Abigail Breslin.

I don't see enough movies to know if this is the worst of the summer. I hope it's not far from the bottom.