Hollywood hues
When Helen raises hell
by Ervell E. Menezes

What’s it like to have a career woman to take on the role of a housewife and bring up children? One never knows one’s hidden talents and may be its only when the opportunity offers itself can one give it a try. That’s precisely what happens in Raising Helen. A tragic accident kills Helen Harris’ (Kate Hudson) sister and brother-in-law and the will decrees that she look after the children, not the more domesticated and already in the family way sister Jenny (Joan Cussack).

So the modelling agency executive has to make a dramatic change in her work schedule apart from incurring the wrath of her sister Jenny.

Helen and Jenny are pure opposites but as they say in life it takes two to tango and by the time they iron out their differences and learn to get the best out of each other the film is over, may be rather overlong, but quite topical and honestly handled.

Director Penny Marshall, whose previous efforts include that super-hit Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride, displays her maturity in dealing with human relationships and how the past has a bearing on their current lives and in Kate Hudson (seen earlier in Almost Famous) she has a versatile performer. She has her mother’s (Goldie Hawn) goo-goo eyes and some of her facial expressions and trying of adjust to three children—teenager Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), naughty Henry (Spencer Breslin) and cute Sarah (Abigail Breslin) is right up her street.

Shades of that 1960s comedy Yours, Mine and Ours it gives the viewer a ring-side view of the chaos a household can become. But then in subjects of this nature one must avoidable the clichés and this isn’t too easy. Marshall should have been more concise because she has to accommodate the romantic element too.

There’s Pastor Dan Parker (John Corbett) who’s attraction for Helen surpasses his religious duties. There are two other cameos, one the modelling agency chief Dominique played by that brilliant British character actress Helen Mirren. Quite a sophisticated cameo for a change. The other is Nilma, an Indian immigrant played with the right earthiness by Sakina Jaffrey.

So there’s a good deal going on and director Marshall’s problem is marshalling all that data within a given time frame. Quite easily her greatest asset is handing the sibling rivalry but she could have edited some of the lesser incidents or may be dropped a character or two. The result is a well-rounded family drama which could have been at least 15 minutes shorter. But still, in the light of the poor fare dished out by Hollywood these days, Raising Helen is worth a dekko.

Can superheroes cool their heels living ordinary, even normal lives out in the wilderness? It doesn’t seem so or that’s why Bob Parr aka Mr Incredible is called upon to don his superhero garb to save the world or some such thing, the usual excuse for a spate of adventures in The Incredibles.

Not only that but Parr (Craig T. Nelson’s voice) has to bring his family together to achieve this, his wife Helen/Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), son Dash (Spencer Fox) and daughter Violet (Sarah Vowell) to do it. And all because he told his admirer Syndrome (Jason Lee) "fly home buddy, I work alone." So the admirer turns villain and wants to get even with him.

It is a pretty slim plot and just an excuse to launch the viewer on some futuristic escapades in some outlandish locales but the slam-bang action has a negative effect. What works is the family relationships and some of the lines by the Parr kids like "dad’s in trouble or the trouble ?" And though it is the same team that did Toy Story and Finding Nemo the fare is hardly half as human.

In the first place the figures are too cardboardish and except for rare dashes the humour is weak. What’s more action dominates content and the story lacks a cumulative buildup. It is more anecdotal and tends to go on and on like a never-ending story. With the result, after the initial novelty the fare palls. It may be technically adept but then few go to the movies to see their technical aspects.

Director Brad Bird has a meaty subject but he makes a hash of things. The establishing shot is weak and he dwells too long on Parr’s shift to the ordinary life. Then, the second half gets bogged in the repetitiveness of the story which takes all of 90-odd minutes. The voices of the stars don’t help either because once one sees the action the voices recede in the background, especially when there is so much action and so little narrative. It even becomes tedious.

In sum, The Incredibles doesn’t come under the better quality of animation films (like Lion King or the recent Shark Tale). And it isn’t festival stuff (it was at IFFI 2004, Goa) anyway. It shouldn’t have been within a kilometre radius of the festival venue, not even on Miramar beach. See it your own risk.

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