Raising Helen (2004)

After her sister and brother-in-law die in a car accident, a young woman becomes the guardian of their three children.

Director:

Garry Marshall

Writers:

Patrick J. Clifton (story), Beth Rigazio (story),

Stars:

Kate Hudson, John Corbett, Joan Cusack

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Hudson	...	Helen Harris
John Corbett	...	Pastor Dan Parker
Joan Cusack	...	Jenny Portman
Hayden Panettiere	...	Audrey Davis
Spencer Breslin	...	Henry Davis
Abigail Breslin	...	Sarah Davis
Helen Mirren	...	Dominique
Sakina Jaffrey	...	Nilma Prasad
Kevin Kilner	...	Ed Portman
Felicity Huffman	...	Lindsay Davis
Sean O'Bryan	...	Paul Davis
Amber Valletta	...	Martina
Ethan Browne	...	Devon
Michael Esparza	...	BZ
Katie Carr	...	Caitlin

Storyline

Helen Harris is living the life she's always dreamed of: her career at a top modeling agency is on the rise; she spends her days at fashion shows and her nights at the city's hottest clubs. But her carefree lifestyle comes to a screeching halt when one phone call changes everything. Helen soon finds herself responsible for her sister's children: 15-year-old Audrey, 10-year-old Henry, and 5-year-old Sarah. No one doubts that Helen is the coolest aunt in New York, but what does this glamour girl know about raising kids? The fun begins as Helen goes through the transformation from super-hip to super-mom, but she quickly finds that dancing at 3a.m. doesn't mix with getting kids to school on time--advice that Helen's older sister, Jenny, is only too quick to dish out. Along the way, Helen finds support in the most unusual place--with Dan Parker, the handsome young pastor and principal of the kids' new school--and realizes the choice she has to make is between the life she's always loved ...

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Plot Keywords:

fashion show | love | pastor | female protagonist | dead animal | 

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Taglines:

Helen help us.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic issues involving teens

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [es] Touchstone Pictures [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Educando a Helen

Filming Locations:

Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£209,201 (UK) (27 August 2004)

Gross:

£463,995 (UK) (3 September 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Beacon Pictures, Mandeville Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Referee for Pastor Dan's Hockey game is introduced as former Olympic skater Scotty Buttons. His name is a combination of the names Scott Hamilton and Dick Button. Both Hamilton and Button were past Gold Medal winners in the Olympics for the United States.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the film when the sisters are in the kitchen there is a pot on the stove with something clearly visible and when they cut back it is gone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Club Doorman: What we got here; 1,2,3,4 - 4 beautiful ladies. Come on. Cesar let them in. Nice. Not you, too random.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits interacts with the opening scenes, wiping on/off screen with passing persons and objects.

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Connections

Features Married with Children (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Destiny"
Written by Henry Binns (as H. Binns), Sam Hardaker (as S. Hardaker), Sophie Baker (as S. Baker), and Sia Furler (as S. Furler)
Performed by Zero 7
Courtesy of Palm/Quango
By Arrangement with Palm Pictures Special Markets

User Reviews

utterly artificial slice-of-life comedy

"Raising Helen" is a formulaic romantic comedy that makes you wonder when Kate Hudson will again find a role that will actually allow her to stretch herself as an actress, fulfilling the promise she made half a decade ago in "Almost Famous." Since then it's been mostly downhill for Hudson, and the ironically titled "Raising Helen" does nothing to help arrest or reverse that slide.

Hudson plays Helen Harris, a young woman whose budding career in the fashion industry is suddenly cut short when her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident, leaving Helen to raise their three children. Things go from bad to worse, as the once carefree Helen struggles with the trials and tribulations and life-changing vicissitudes of unplanned motherhood.

This is a typical Garry Marshall film in that, even when it tries to deal with "real world" issues such as death, loss, grief, sibling rivalry, teenage angst etc., it does so in only the most superficial, glossy and unconvincing of terms. Heck, there's even a hunky, hockey-playing Lutheran minister on hand - the kind one can only find in movies - to provide spiritual as well as romantic comfort for those times when the going gets to be just a bit too tough for the harried guardian.

The performances are uniformly uninteresting, but I choose to blame the shallow writing rather than the actors in this case. It's particularly painful to see actresses of the caliber of Felicity Huffman and Joan Cusack cast adrift in this sea of "chick flick" platitudes and feel-good movie clichés - but everyone in this film suffers a similar fate.