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DVD Molly - An American Girl on the Home Front
Molly, a spunky heroine in the wildly popular American Girl series of books and characters, is a typical tween living in an atypical time: 1943, the height of World War II. In An American Girl on the Home Front, Molly and her friends are dimly aware of the war and the occasional hardship it can mean, but Molly (played with grace and bravado by Maya Ritter), like most kids, really hasn't had occasion to pay attention ("She just doesn't understand rations, Mom," her sister snipes). This film follows Molly as the war begins to hit home; her father is shipped overseas and her mom (a delightful Molly Ringwald) becomes a temporary Rosie the Riveter. Molly bravely rolls with the punches, yet her life is still leavened with fun, like learning to tap dance for the local Miss Victory competition. Then a young refugee from England, Emily (Tory Green), comes to stay, and Molly's, and young viewers', consciousness is raised. As always with American Girl heroines, Molly is a great role model with strong values, but never a goody-two-shoes. The period touches, including clothes, movie-reels, and background music, are well done too. Extras include a compelling documentary, Uncle Sam Wants You... to Tap Dance, featuring an interview with Mitzy Scott, an 88-year-old former USO dancer and hostess, relaying her personal history of dancing at home and with soldiers on leave, making something personal and dear to her--dance--into the ultimate patriotic act. --A.T. Hurley
Review(s): DVD Molly - An American Girl on the Home Front
Despite heavy criticism, an enjoyable treat for all AG fans!
One of American Girl's newest and richest traditions--which includes producing a movie and manufacturing a new doll every holiday season--represents a recent marketing tool that can reel in AG fans of all ages. Those of us who grew up with these dolls can derive just as much excitement with these films as does the younger crowd, and this year Molly becomes the star of her very own story.
Stacking this film up against the original two movies starring Samantha and Felicity, I personally have to say that "Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front" easily surpassed them both. Perhaps it is because the World War II era is a memorable and relatively recent period in American history--a landmark event that current generations remember through the heartfelt accounts of grandparents, relatives, and friends over the years.
The chosen layout for this film has clearly received some heat and is viewed by the majority as poor against the first two movies. While I will not deny that the cross-over from the books to the small screen are blaring for the most loyal fans, it is not at all uncommon for screen adaptations to deviate from the written books. However, that does not mean that this movie does not stand on its own as a strong story and a worthy addition to the AG film collection.
The biggest problem with this movie, in my opinion, is that the screen time (90 minutes on the televised version, and that included commercials) didn't allow sufficient development for the several plot threads. Since the end result was scenes that were occasionally abrupt and choppy, it may have been in their best interest to emphasize fewer events within the story. Also, if you are a longtime fan of the 6-volume book collection, you will notice that there was one McIntire family member short in the film. 4-year-old brother Brad was completely eliminated, which surprised me a bit, but you have to understand that it must be difficult to find an actor that young, and some movies simply don't find the need to bother with it. The movie functioned just fine with the three older kids, and although middle brother Ricky was portrayed with a much less pesky nature as in the books, everyone delivered well.
As has been mentioned by many, Maya Ritter turned in an impressive performance in the title role. Not only did she totally look the part (maybe a little too much--haha), I think she definitely outdid Anna-Sophia Robb and Shailene Woodley from the first two American Girl movies. Her whiny behavior did get old at times, but I liked the way she matured and found her place in the war effort as the plot progressed.
These American Girl movies have also begun a tradition of selecting a bigger-name actress for the mother (or the main maternal role). If you remember, Mia Farrow portrayed Samantha's beloved Grandmary, and Marcia Gay Harden stepped in as the mother of Felicity. Now, the well-known Molly Ringwald joins this cast as the kind, loving and patient McIntire matriarch--and she played the part very well. I was surprised to see her in this role, but I must say she hit it on the nail.
I don't blame the most die-hard "Molly" fans for being disappointed with the changes made for this film. Personally, the Molly books were my favorite out of all the ones that were released, mostly because the spunky and spirited personality of the main character were so closely channeling something that seemed real. Molly's father was already gone for two years in the very first "Meet Molly" book, and during the film, he leaves at the beginning and returns a few months later. The way the writers chose to portray his emotional return to his family was a little disappointing and even slightly corny (even coming from me, a definite fan of the fluff). If the writers were to keep only one main plot thread from the original books, I would have picked this one--the finale to the "Molly" books that would have also created a perfect movie ending. I understand that they wanted to introduce Molly's father from the very beginning and allow viewers to get a sense of knowing his character, but perhaps they could have achieved that task more fully through flashbacks or brief scene jumps to the man's current involvement in the war.
I was very pleased with how English refugee Emily Bennett was developed in the film, and I absolutely loved Tory Green in the role. What a sweetheart she was--friendly, unassuming and painfully shy, and the gradual friendship that grew between her and Molly was done beautifully. Overall, I perceive this film as a worthy addition to your collection--well-acted, a good story (if not a little different than some fans of the books would have liked), and, as always with the AG films, indicative of how those timeless values of cooperation and friendship can span well through the passing years.
Slow and Disappointing
This movie wasn't sure what to do. It didn't have very good relations to any of the books. Maya Ritter wasn't the best choice for Molly, even though she looked the part. In the books, Molly is very cheerful, but not in the movie. The best parts had the Emily and Mr. McIntire in them, because they did a fantastic job of portraying their parts. After the terrific Samantha and Felicity movies, this was disappointing.
Not as good as the other movies
I agree with the other reviewers - this film is not as good as Samantha or Felicity. The changes in the story from the books are glaring and there just isn't as much beauty of spirit that the other movies had.
The DVD itself has almost no special features. There is one bit about tap dancing and then two ads. That's it! No behind the scenes, no tour of the American Girl Places, nothing.
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