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The tile role is one Helen Harris (Kate Hudson). She’s the executive assistant to the head of a powerful and very trendy New York City modeling agency run by the imperious Dominique (Helen Mirren). Helen’s life is just too cool. She knows everyone in town and never waits on line to gain entree to the hottest clubs or restaurants. She attends all the trendiest fashion shows and rubs proverbial elbows with the rich and famous. She may have to be available at every hour of the day and night, but she loves it.

Helen has two less hip and more domesticated sisters who live in modest New Jersey homes across that great cultural divide, the Hudson River. Jenny Portman (Joan Cusack) is the supermom, highly organized and pathologically dedicated to raising her children. She is utterly focused. Less focused but still a loving mom to her three children is second sister Lindsay Davis (Felicity Huffman). This idyllic extended family is devastated by senseless tragedy. Lindsay and her husband Paul (Sean O'Bryan) are killed in a car crash; their children now need a new home. At the reading of the wills, everyone is surprised by Lindsay’s choice: not the eminently qualified Jenny, but the flighty Helen. Jenny’s hurt, Helen’s shocked, and the Davis children, Sarah (Abigail Breslin), Henry (Spencer Breslin), and Audrey (Hayden Panettiere) are skeptical. But Lindsay has left a letter for each of her sisters to explain her reasoning, and after each has read her words, Helen agrees to take the kids.

I think you know where this is going. Helen can’t manage the demands of childrearing and her job at the agency. She must make a choice and, of course, gives up the job. Money’s tight, so she and her nieces and nephew are forced to move out of Manhattan and into - gasp - Queens. But it’s not as bad as she expected. Helen manages to find a nice, safe Lutheran school where the principal appeals to all the ladies. Not to worry, Pastor Dan Parker (John Corbett) will only have eyes for Helen. Of course, there’s the saintly neighbor, Nilma Prasad (Sakina Jaffrey), who knows just when to wield a baseball bat. And let’s not forget the cute job as a receptionist at Massey Motors, where Mickey Massey (Hector Elizondo) will be impressed by her impromptu sales abilities.

There are impediments and resolutions, challenges and resolutions, confrontations and resolutions, all very predictable and leading directly to a fairytale ending. The casting is flawless. Kate Hudson couldn’t be cuter. John Corbett is as patient as a saint. (Do Lutherans have saints?) He would have to be; Dan’s romance with Helen progresses with all the haste of the Mendenhall Glacier. Hayden Panettiere, who I last recall as Maddie Harrington, Ally McBeal’s long lost daughter, is becoming quite an accomplished actress. And both Joan Cusack and Hector Elizondo are always delightful. The film is ultimately about Helen’s maturing into a responsible adult, growing into a more emotionally demanding role, but I wish the material had more bite. Garry Marshall is a clever director with a wry sense of humor; he’s edgier than the material found here and in The Princess Diaries. What happened to the Garry Marshall of Pretty Woman, a fairytale with a few sharp corners?

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Slightly better than the recent Miramax releases from Buena Vista, this Touchstone film still doesn’t attain the quality of current DVDs from Warner or Fox. Edge halos are present, but not always visible. A touch of low pass filtering has been applied, reducing the visibility of finely grained textures. Small object detail is reasonable but not exceptional. That’s the bad news; the rest is good. Color accuracy is terrific, based on natural flesh tones, vivid primary colors, and the absence of chroma noise and smearing. Shadow detail during the many nighttime exterior shots is excellent. I noticed no mosquito noise or macroblocking.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is quite good. Surround effects are rare; this is a front-centric mix. Environmental sounds and ambiance may sometime be heard from the surrounds. And there is one significant pan from the rear to the front. EX decoding will neither help nor hinder this track. The sound effects simply support the onscreen activities and don’t call attention to themselves. I didn’t notice any serious bass extension. John Debney’s score is conveyed with some authority, but the numerous source tracks are so processed that it’s impossible to judge fidelity. One exception is a Paul Simon track, which sounded very nice indeed. The dialog remains crystal clear throughout.

The alternative language is French. Optional subtitles are in Spanish, French, and English, for which Closed Captions are also included.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The DVD is programmed to open with two full screen or non-anamorphic widescreen trailers for National Treasure, which opens theatrically on November 24, and the Mulan 2-disc Special Edition DVD. These may be skipped with the next chapter button and are available in the Sneak Peeks supplement.

Director Garry Marshall, screenwriters Jack Amiel and Michael Begler, and Beth Rigazio, who was one of the two writers credited with the story, may be heard in a feature-length commentary. Readers who’ve read my previous reviews of Garry Marshall films know that I usually find his commentaries highly amusing. But here he has chosen not to fly alone, and having been joined by three of his creative team, falls into prolonged discussions of the plot and the characters’ motivations and arcs. Fortunately, as I found my attention drifting, he brought me back with a funny anecdote or a wry remark. He’s delightfully self-deprecating about the magic of film; for example, he relished admitting that a conspicuous mobile home was placed in frame to camouflage two palm trees during a scene shot in California but set in New Jersey. Frankly, I wish he had done the commentary solo; perhaps he would have been wittier. Then again, perhaps he didn’t have much to say about this production; about an hour in, as his writers chatted, he has a nosh, munching on lunch and popping the top of a refreshing beverage. Never the elocutionist, his words became further muffled by food. But most importantly, we do learn that the woman sitting next to Paris Hilton at the fashion show was not, in fact, Sophia Loren.

The Blooper Reel (4:44) is more likely to make you smile than laugh. Most of the short reveals the players and the filmmakers horsing around on the set, but there are a few giggles to be had here. If I had to guess, I’d say that a Garry Marshall set is a happy set. Deleted Scenes (13:49, aggregate) includes lots of comments by the director. Not only does Marshall talk to us from the menu, explaining why scenes were deleted, he offers both introductions and postscripts for each scene. Some are rather nice, but Marshall tells us exactly why he cut them. Enjoy all six scenes with the handy “Play All” option. And the last film-related supplement is the Music Video “extraordinary” with Liz Phair (3:39). The 118-minute feature is organized into twelve chapters.

Finally, Sneak Peeks offers a second chance to view the trailers that open the DVD and then some. You’ll also find DVD promos for The Young Black Stallion (1:08), the third season of Felicity (1:09), the first season of Popular (1:05), the Jackie Chan remake of Around the World in 80 Days (2:01), and a broadcast promo for the Hope and Faith television series (0:32 - don’t forget, Disney owns ABC).

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

Strangely, even though InterActual’s logo appears on the keepcase, I was not able to find any DVD-ROM content, either with InterActual’s player or an InterActual-enabled version of InterVideo’s WinDVD.

Final Thoughts