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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: The film's title says it all, really.

Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand, Friends With Money) is a downtrodden and impoverished governess in London who is surrounded in misery. Thanks to poor treatment by her employers - and her own low tolerance for indecency and unfairness - Miss Pettigrew soon finds herself without a job and on the streets with just the clothes on her back.

So, in a completely uncharacteristic move, Miss Pettigrew does something a little indecent herself and steals an assignment from another governess. As a result, she winds up on the doorstep of Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams, Enchanted, in yet another charming role), an American actress with one too many love problems.

Delysia's got three men on her mind: One who will make her a star, one who will make her rich and one who will make her happy (if you've seen any chick flick, you can take a wild guess as to what'll happen), and she needs Miss Pettigrew's unexpected degree of wisdom and advice for all of her love problems. And just like any good farce, all three of her boyfriends are attending the same party, and a big announcement needs to be made about whom she chooses to spend her life with.

But before Delysia makes and admits her choice, we enjoy Miss Pettigrew as she catches a break for once and gets her much-deserved taste of the glamorous life.

To get an idea of what Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is all about, imagine a madcap comedy such as Noises Off!, mixed with a chick flick, and then set against '30s London during Hitler's rise to power. This historical backdrop provides a different approach to a typical chick flick, however, and allows the film to broaden its appeal further than it would have if it were set in the present day.

Not that the film couldn't have done it on its merit alone; on the contrary, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day has a lot of good things going for it. Adams is by far the best part of this movie, and she injects the flimsy character of Delysia with a believable, appealing personality.

And although Adams steals every scene she's in, McDormand - known for her outstanding performances in Fargo and Almost Famous - definitely holds her own. She shares the spotlight well, and her performance allows you to sympathize with Miss Pettigrew, not just pity her.

As talented as these actresses are, however, this movie would have fallen by the wayside if it weren't for some brilliant writing. Writers David Magee (Finding Neverland) and Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty) deliver an extremely impressive and excellently written script that is both smart and hilarious. As integral as the cast is in this film's success, the writing alone makes the film stand out as more than just another heart-warmer.

While Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is talented in these respects and definitely outshines other films in its genre, the film never strays further than "cute" territory. The story is light, but it provides a nice relief from all of the dark fare of this past year's films - and is another win for Adams.

diversions@dbk.umd.edu

RATING: 3 STARS OUT OF 5

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