Product Description

Academy Award® nominee Amy Adams (Enchanted) and Academy Award® winner Frances McDormand star in this charming comedy about finding a new life and a new love, all in one day. When Miss Pettigrew (McDormand) stumbles upon the chance to become the new "social secretary" to glamorous high-society singer and actress Delysia Lafosse (Adams), she seizes the opportunity despite being totally out of her element. Swept up into the glamorous whirl of high society, it’s all Miss Pettigrew can do to keep up with Delysia as she juggles her lovelife and career in this “delightful champagne cocktail of a comedy!” (Leah Rozen, People).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2716 in DVD
• Brand: Universal Studios
• Released on: 2008-08-19
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
Based on a 1938 Winifred Watson novel, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a colorful story about lives stalled in middle age but kick-started again by the follies of youthful lovers all around. Frances McDormand stars as Miss Pettigrew, whose inability to hold a job in London as a governess compromises her well-being shortly before England’s entry in World War II. Finessing her way into a position as social secretary to a young, American golddigger and singer named Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), the starving Miss Pettigrew finds herself at the center of a whirlwind that is her new employer’s life. Hemmed in by lovers and suitors--including a young, theatrical producer (Tom Payne) looking to cast one of his pleasing girlfriends in a plum role; a creepy nightclub owner (Mark Strong) in whose flat Delysia lives; and a pianist (Lee Pace) who genuinely loves her--Delysia needs a map to figure out how to navigate through life. Miss Pettigrew, who suffered a loss during WWI that she does not speak of, nudges the naïve songstress toward wise decisions. But she is at the mercy of Delysia’s formidable friend (Shirley Henderson), who knows the truth about her impoverished state and is engaged to a much older man (Ciarán Hinds). The latter, a fellow of substance who seems to be meandering through life, falls instantly for the soulful Miss Pettigrew. Full of Art Deco trappings and paced with a vintage, screwball comedy energy, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is like watching a contemporary version of a Hollywood classic. --Tom Keogh

Get to Know the cast from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Amy Adams

Frances McDormand

Lee Pace

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Customer Reviews

One day leads to others...
Amy Adams. Angelina Joli. Sarah Jessica Parker. Frances McDormand. Odd, huh? Three younger beauties who can act. One maturing woman, not-so-beautiful, can stand equally with them. Star power? Inner beauty? Confidence? Frances McDormand has It which others can see.

"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" is a fine vehicle for our Frances. She plays the low-key Miss Pettigrew, freshly out of a job, desperate for a new one in pre-war London, as she has no apartment and no possessions other than what she has on her person. Why can't she keep a job? Because she is painfully truthful!

Through a fluke she acquires the address of a rich, young American singer and inquires within. What this American needs is a therapist/parent. What she gets is Miss Pettigrew, a magical godmother in the guise of "social secretary." You see, Delysia McFosse is morally confused in her quest to be a stage and screen star. She currently is sleeping with three men: one for an apartment and unlimited funds, one for a movie role, and one for fun. The plot suggests that Delysia loves this third one. He definitely loves her!

Circling this bankrupt moral code in a bankrupt time of war is Miss Pettigrew. One follows the code. This is a rule for both society at large and individuals up close. By movie's end Miss Pettigrew has touched and impacted behavioral changes both refreshing and dynamic. Not only does she point Delysia in the right direction, she unexpectedly and inadvertently shows Delysia's cold-hearted, man-eating friend for the scoundrel she is.

In impacting behavior around her, the starving Miss Pettigrew finds herself in dire circumstances once again. Instead of being a fairy godmother, Miss Pettigrew needs someone to watch over her. Someone does come and fulfills her dreams. All's fair in love and war. This is love and it is very fair!! Indeed, in living for a day, Miss Pettegrew will live the rest of her life.

What a charming and delightful movie! Highly recommended!

A Day Worth Viewing
Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is the governess of last resort. No, that doesn't mean she turns naughty children around. In fact, she doesn't seem to be able to keep a job. Fired from her last job, she literally has nothing. And her employment agency is tired of trying to find her jobs. After all, jobs are scarce in 1930's London. Desperate, Miss Pettigrew takes the address of a client, a Delysia Lafoose (Amy Adams).

When Miss Pettigrew arrives at the address, she finds Delysia in crisis. While saving the day, Miss Pettigrew learns that Delysia isn't looking for a governess but a social secretary because they are fashionable.

And Delysia definitely needs help sorting out her life. She's a singer who wants to become an actress. But she's having huge man problems. Specifically, there are three men in her life. There's Phil (Tom Payne), who she has slept with to gain the lead in the play he is producing. There's Nick (Mark Strong), who owns the nightclub where Delysia sings every night as well as the apartment where Delysia lives. Then there's Michael (Lee Pace), a piano player who has proposed to Delysia and has spent the last year in prison waiting for an answer.

Miss Pettigrew is definitely out of her element, but she seems to be helping Delysia juggle everything. Can she keep up and guide Delysia at the same time?

Yes, this movie is a predictable romantic comedy. But the ride is quite enjoyable. The first half is almost farcical in tone with many laugh out loud moments. The second half becomes more serious with fewer laughs but many very touching moments. But by that point you are so invested in everyone's lives you have to stay and see how it turns out.

The acting holds things together perfectly with the entire cast balancing the comedy and emotion. But I've got to praise the two leads. Frances McDormand's facial expressions provide some of the best laughs in the first half. And Amy Adams keeps Delysia from being a mindless fluffy character. Instead, we truly care about her from her very first scene.

While this is a mindless comedy, I think its appeal will skew slightly older. Even with the partial nudity and double meanings, this movie will appeal most to adults and less to the teen and early twenty crowd.

I found this romantic comedy fun and charming and think that any adult will feel the same way.

A double Pygmalion (3.5 stars)
When I first saw the trailers for this film, I thought, "Oh no, not another _My Fair Lady_."

"Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day" is a whole lot more than the 'fix her up to catch a man films' that get sold to the public on a daily basis. What ends up happening is that Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) and Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams) end up teaming up to help each other. You see, the unattractive failed nanny who's been eating out of soup kitchens and the lovely ingenue inhabiting a wealthy man's penthouse while she juggles two other boyfriends have more in common than you would think.

"Miss Pettigrew" takes place on the first day of the London Blitz, so add pre-war tensions, and you've got an interesting film on more than one level. Don't get me wrong, the film's still predictable and light, but it does both quite adequately for a snowy afternoon. If you enjoy that time-frame's costumes, music, and just a dash of history (not enough, sadly) this is a film worth catching.