Raising Helen

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: May 28, 2004

DVD Release Date: October 12, 2004

Plot 411: Helen is living the SATC high life and loving it until her sister and brother-in-lawe die and she must care for their kids.

Review: Kate Hudson is perfect in this role as Helen, a modeling agent who is living it up in NYC. She's single and carefree, knows the hippest clubs and always gets VIP treatment. Her world crashes around her though when she must take in her orphaned nieces (Hayden Panettiere and Abigail Breslin) and nephew (Spencer Breslin). Suddenly she finds herself going to school instead of parties and chasing boys away from her niece instead of fighting off the boys herself. Another kink in the plan is that her sister Jenny (Joan Cusack) is already the perfect mother. Why didn't their sister pick her instead of Helen to serve as the children's guardian? Hudson is in top form in this movie, even if it is sentimental and predictable, and seems most like her mother Goldie Hawn. She is sweet and likable, which fits Helen's character. I liked how they address a more serious issue (death of a loved one) in this rom com in addition to the common theme of growing up. Also in this movie is John Corbett, Helen Mirren, Felicity Huffman and Amber Valletta.

Watch It: And find hints of your own family.

Skip It: Because it definitely leans toward being a tear jerker.

Shanghai Kiss

Rating: Not Rated

Movie Release Date: N/A

DVD Release Date: October 9, 2007

Plot 411: A man returns to the motherland and learns to like who he is.

Review: This was an odd film because it tried to do so much with so little. The main character, Liam (Ken Leung), is a Chinese American trying to make it in Hollywood. He is rather limited in his opinions about his culture and heritage. He doesn't appreciate it and actually battles against it, thus conforming to society's "white is right" mantra. Despite being cognizant of how messed up this is, he continues to struggle against society's whacked perceptions and his own skewed viewpoints. While returning home from an unsuccessful audition, Liam meets Adelaide (Hayden Panettiere), a high schools student. They quickly bond and he begins to wrestle with his feelings for her despite her youth. Before things can get sorted out, he goes to Shanghai to claim a house his grandmother left him. Here, he finally discovers what it is like to be Chinese and begins to embrace his culture. I just want to say that if Panettiere hasn't gotten on your last nerve yet, she will in this movie. This movie is also too ambitious for what it's trying to say. Questions of identity, racial stereotypes, societal pressures and views on love are all pertinent to the plot of this film but are just too heavy for this medium. Maybe with a stronger plot and better actors, these themes could be more fully explored. Instead we get some ramshackled attempt at a meaningful film. Also in this film is Kelly Hu, James Hong and Joel Moore.

Watch It: If maybe you yourself are rebelling against your own Asian-ness?

Skip It: At all costs because it's pretty lame.