What's one of our favorite things to do on a snowy night? Or, any night for that matter? Snuggle up on the couch or our bed and watch a movie. We're movie kind of people around here, and I'm really starting to get into this Netflix thing. Today in our snow covered mailbox arrived Kit Kittredge.
If you're not familiar, Kit is a much loved American Girl character from the 1930s. The one my girls wanted, actually, because she has short hair like mine (I love you too girlies). We talked them into the more generic "My American Girl" doll that looks like them and has long hair because I'm not planning on them owning multiples of these dolls and I know they're going to want to be able to style their hair.
We haven't read the Kit book series yet, due to a serious back log of chapter books the girls want to read, and now there's *ACK!* reading homework that gets in the way of reading what you want. Sigh...I remember hating having to read what they made me in school instead of the books I loved. Not that they hate what school is sending home, but I can see the future.
I'm slowly drifting off topic here...
I expected this movie to be a fluffy kid's eye view of the depression. Unrealistic and sugar coated, skirting around the reality of most people's lives. Man, was I wrong. Don't misunderstand me, this is no Grapes of Wrath (A perfect example of one of those books we had to read and movie we had to watch in high school when I'd prefer to be reading something else). Obviously it's geared toward 9 year old girls, but it was no where near as fluffy as I expected. It was probably a bit intense for my six year olds as far as giving them things to worry about. They now know what "foreclosure" means and can begin to worry and have dreams about their father losing his job and us all losing our home. That kind of intense. Maybe the right word is actually "grown up", not "intense".
The story caught me almost right away and the acting was excellent. I didn't get up and find something to do while we were watching. That's how I know it grabbed me. And yes, I teared up a couple times. It doesn't help that Grace is highly in tune with tender moments and when she senses it, she always touches your face or brings on a big hug or just a nice touch of your arm. It intensifies the moment. Of course there is a happy ending for most, and while that may be slightly unrealistic, it was, afterall, a movie about a 9 year old girl saving the day with her smarts.
In short, I loved it. Maybe that's childish of me, but I did. And I think you might love it too, especially if you watch it with a little girl that touches your face just at the right moment to make the tears spill over.
2 comments:
Sounds good. Can I borrow your girls to watch it with? During those tender parts in a movie, my boys turn around and look at me and see if I'm crying. Not quite the same thing...
You can borrow them any time!
What is it with boys and checking to see if you're crying? I think Harland knows my triggers now, and he always manages to sneak a peek at me right when I don't want him to know that the Pampers comercial has me feeling all sentimental??
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