Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
| Kit Kittredge: An American Girl | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Patricia Rozema |
| Written by | Valerie Tripp |
| Produced by | Julia Roberts |
| Starring | Abigail Breslin Chris O'Donnell Julia Ormond Max Thieriot |
| Cinematography | David Boyd |
| Edited by | Julie Rogers |
| Music by | Joseph Vitarelli |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema Picturehouse |
Release dates | June 20, 2008 |
Running time | 90 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by Patricia Rozema. The screenplay by Valerie Tripp focuses on the American Girl character Kit Kittredge, who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio during the Great Depression. The film is the first in the American Girl film series to have a theatrical release; the first three were television movies.
Plot
Kit Kittredge is determined to become a reporter, and she writes articles on the typewriter in her tree house while drama unfolds beneath her. The mortgage on her house is about to be foreclosed because her father lost lost his car dealership and couldn't keep up with the payments. He has gone to Chicago to search for work, and to make some income her mother takes in an odd assortment of boarders, including magician Mr. Berk, nurse Miss Dolley, and mobile library driver Miss Bond. Locally there have been reports of muggings and robberies supposedly committed by hobos. Kit investigates and meets young Will and Countee, who live in a hobo camp near the river. Kit writes a story about the camp and tries to sell it to Mr. Gibson, the mean editor of the local newspaper, but he has no interest in the subject. She adopts a dog, her mother buys chickens, and Kit sells their eggs. Then a locked box containing her mother's treasures is stolen, and a footprint with a star matching the one on Will's boot is discovered, making him the prime suspect. It's up to Kit and her friends Stirling and Ruthie to gather enough evidence to prove the little hobo is innocent.
Cast
- Abigail Breslin as Kit Kittredge
- Chris O'Donnell as Mr. Kittredge
- Julia Ormond as Mrs. Kittredge
- Max Thieriot as Will Shepherd
- Joan Cusack as Miss Bond
- Jane Krakowski as Miss Dooley
- Madison Davenport as Ruthie Smithens
- Zach Mills as Stirling Howard
- Austin Macdonald as Roger
- Willow Smith as Countee
- Wallace Shawn as Mr. Gibson
- Glenne Headly as Mrs. Howard
- Stanley Tucci as Mr. Berk
Critical reception
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. As of July 6, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 79% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 81 reviews.[1] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 27 reviews.[2]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "It has a great look, engaging performances, real substance and even a few whispers of political ideas" [3], and in the New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis said, "this classy, heart-on-its-sleeve movie is packed with laudable life lessons." [4] Elizabeth Weitzman of the New York Daily News called it "resolutely old-fashioned" and thought "the script feels a little stiff and moralistic at times," but added, "it's hard to fault a film with such an intelligent, good-hearted heroine." [5] Megan Basham of World Magazine said, "Even if young fans can't relate the struggles in the movie to their own life, Kit still offers more than the shows and movies typically aimed at the tween girl market. Besides the simple educational value of giving them a picture to connect with their history lessons, the film also focuses on more significant themes than the materialism and prettiness championed in the Hannah Montana ghetto." [6]
References
- ^ "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ Chicago Sun-Times, June 20, 2008
- ^ New York Times, June 20, 2008
- ^ New York Daily News, June 20, 2008
- ^ World Magazine, June 28, 2008
