move over siskel & ebert. or how i never got an american girl doll

if you're looking for a family friendly type movie for the thanksgiving holiday....which, coincidentally is rapidly approaching at breakneck turkey type speed, may i suggest "kit kittredge" of the american girl fame.

bella has been pestering me to see it for awhile now & i had begrudgingly agreed, after a list of conditions had been met, such as getting thru a school day without a mark or at very least a smiley face or just one offense on her take-home folder. cleaning her room without being asked. no sass at homework time. polishing the catbox errr....silver. etc...

and wouldn't ya know it, she came thru. so yesterday, i had to admit defeat, and fold, with a visit to my nearest redbox for their delightfully wonderful $1 rentals. cha-ching. (also note my shameless plug for redbox. what's that i hear? a free rental? you shouldn't have.)

i know this is gonna sound really selfish and such, but when i think *family fun*, my first question is generally, what can i get out of this? which totally sounds worse than it is, because what i mean by that, is that i'm considering what i like to call the well-rounded effect.

*will this be boring or cheesy in any way, shape or form for any party involved.

*will my lightweight, waterproof and fire resistant backpack fit all neccesary means of rescue should the need arise: bug spray, sunblock, snacks, drinks, tranquilizer gun, bandaids, motorized wheel-chair with rear wheel drive & optional speedboat mode. a shot of morphine.

*do we have a backup plan in the onset of weather and/or nautural disasters or bears.

*will it be pee-in-our-pants fun and excitement, or will someone literally feel the need for peeing in their pants, depending on logistics.

*and, most importantly, where are the emergency exits for the quick bail-out.

the same is true for me when you mix words like *movie* and *family friendly* in the same sentence. i'm a skeptic.

still. a very large chunk of my soul really really wanted this movie to be superb. i was 11 years old, the year the American Girl dolls were first introduced. and i vividly remember the year i spent christmas in omaha with my well-to-do birth dad's family. my sister staci received the *molly* doll. she was the most beautiful doll i'd ever seen and i cringed as staci drug her along by the hair, whacking her against the steps as she climbed up and down the stairs all day. i asked my step-mom where she'd found such a pretty doll, and she and my dad laughed, as my grandmother shook her head, saying i was entirely too old to care about dolls.

when i came back home, i did a little investigating, and got my hands on an AG catalog. from there, it was a trip to the library where i quickly fell in love with the samantha character. and then, kit. the dolls were ridiculously expensive and to be honest, i never really even entertained the idea i could ever have one. but i was an avid reader and enjoyed many of the AG books, getting lost in their characters. samantha was the little orphan girl, sent to live with her affluent grandmother in the early 1900s. she was kind and open hearted and taught the grownups around her many valuable lessons in acceptance, by her adventures in friendship, crossing racial and social boundaries. kit was the little girl in the midst of the depression, with dreams of becoming a journalist. her life as she knows it, plunges head-first into the unknown and her motto, left to her by her father, becomes "don't let it beat you".

i was fascinated, even fixated, growing up, on very specific points in our history. stories of the native americans, the prairie pioneers, orphan trains. the depression. just to name a few. i would pour over books, soaking in all the details. any books related to particular periods were devoured with fervor. i read all the janette oke books. the mandie series by lois gladys leppard held an extra special place in my heart. as did the the sadie rose series by hilda stahl. areleta richardsons grandmas attic series. my beloved anne of green gables.

these books were no different. and this movie is precious. it really is.

the year is 1933 and kits' life has been, in many ways, untouched by the depression and ongoing despair around her. her family is affluent ~ her mother a high-society woman who regularly holds tea luncheons with her well-to-do friends. her father, a car salesman. they live in a large house, in a high-end neighborhood. they can afford groceries and luxuries. words like "bad economy", "depression", and "hobos" are just silly, yet degrading, schoolyard terms.

then her teacher announces one day, they'll be helping to serve in a soup kitchen. one of her best friends, francis, is affected by the phenomenon of the scary bank foreclosure when her family is forced to move. as she passes out bread with her classmates to the many worn faces in the crowded soup kitchen, she sees her own father standing in line. and her life is suddenly turned upside down.

they've lost everything. their car is sold, money and food is scarce. her father travels to the city to find work, as they turn their own home into a boarding house to make money. her mother moves into the sewing room, as kit moves into the attic to make room for more tennants. they begin raising chickens to sell eggs and kit is struck with the realization that everyone is just one step away from the poor house as her mother makes her first dress from sack cloth.

the movie follows their struggle to get thru this time. the many colorful characters that come to stay in their home: a magician. a mobile librarian. a dance instructer. a classmate and his mother. she forms an unexpected friendship with 2 hobo children & discovers the damaging effects of stereotyping. how important everyones stories are. she & her friends enjoy some old-fashioned sleuthing when her own house is struck in a string of robberies.

and thru it all, she gains an understanding that the world around her is far more than what she'd ever thought it to be. that you should never let it beat you. and love and perseverance are 2 of the most priceless things of all.

its a really good story line. its not kitschy or too girlie or sappy. its sweet and heartwarming.

so go. rent it. tell em kat sent you.