Good concept, poorly executed.

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It's a movie where the best of it is its double meaning title! It's not a bad movie; just an OK. I think big part of its problem (that didn't make it an "excellent" one) is that it didn't want to make comedy while it had all the capacities, it relayed on very easy solutions and recycled stuff (the storyline of the teen girl and the party reminded me of a too similar one, in the too similar movie, Uncle Buck !), and finally it lacked the surprises so much. So according to that the outcome was something between traditional and boring.Being unbelievably predictable isn't the tragedy here, we know the formula, and experienced it dozens of time before. But this movie couldn't make its material creative, its stalemates hard to solve, and its case effective. For instance there wasn't a good deal of problems around the lead. The teen girl forgave her utterly naively at the end. The boyfriend of (Paris Hilton) got an amputated storyline (most probably the movie makers forgot about him later ?!). And that lover priest didn't produce anything; comedy nor romance. His storyline was extremely blank. Obviously the movie doesn't score high, or actually score, when it comes to comedy or romance.The dialog was poor except for couple of lines I liked, however irrelevant to the main story, like "we don't sell used cars, we sell cars that had a previous owner", or "you're not a bad person, but what you did was very bad". I hated using big, real big, names like (Helen Mirren) and (Hector Elizondo) in trivial, rather cameos of roles. And it doesn't need an expert to know well that this is a (Joan Cusack) movie. Although, I'm not a fan of her (sometimes I can't just look at her !), but it takes a nut to not admitting that her character was the hardest, most attractive, one. And she nailed it, being the most memorable factor about this movie as a whole. In any case I prefer another not-a-kids-person-with-kids or from-ignorant-to-parent movies like (The Pacifier), or (Big Momma's House 2) both from the next year 2005; simply – while being average themselves – they did have some things to be watched more than (Raising Helen). Finally, it's kind of indolent movie, that doesn't want to be watchable enough, or know much about the situation it deals with. Yet can be used to spend 100 minutes with lovely cast, totally uncomplicated time, and (Kate Hudson)'s smile & chic clothes if you don't have any useful things to do!

I haven't seen a Kate Hudson movie in a while so I decided to give 'Raising Helen' a chance. I wasn't expecting much as it pretty much seems like a story that has already been told over and over again. And, that is what 'Raising Helen' is. I was pleasantly surprised to see many other talented actresses like Felicity Huffman, Helen Mirren (both these great actresses are grossly wasted) and Joan Cusack (a sheer delight). Sakina Jaffrey plays the funny Indian neighbour quite well. John Corbett plays the male 'lead' but he doesn't have much to do. The child actors are okay (and sometimes annoying, especially the teenager). Kate Hudson does well but I am quite tired of seeing her in the same type of movies. Since an excellent breakthrough performance in 'Almost Famous', she's mostly done these romantic comedy drama type films that seem to belong to the same factory (with the exception of 'Skeleton Key', an awful horror movie). In spite of the done to death formula of the storyline, 'Raising Helen' does have its bright moments especially those between Cusack and Hudson. Clearly, this movie was built for a target audience and while I'm not exactly among that particular target, those who watch it knowing what to expect, might enjoy it. As for me, it wasn't a bad experience as I was multitasking while watching and I managed to enjoy the best moments.

Three sisters, played by two real actresses and one Hollywood daughter. One dies, one is overly stuffy and the third — who inherits the children — has the Devil-in-Prada life. Its the third sister the movie focuses on, but its Joan Cusack that steals this. She's the "unfun" sister.Joan acts with her face to an extent that with anyone else, Jim Carey for instance, would only be comical. But she makes it real, as if she is a real character with someone inside pulling strings violently. But she shows us on the side that she (the actress) really does have this all under control. We don't have many actresses that can underdo overdoing it and make it work without having the whole project be invented around her.She's really wonderful. I'm trying to find the film she wrote: "The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez."As for the movie: brand name fast food.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

This was a really funny and inspiring movie starring Kate Hudson. In the movie, she plays Helen, a swinging, carefree spirit who works for a modeling agency. She is really enjoying her lifestyle when her sister and sister's husband are killed in a car accident, and Helen is given custody of their children over their other, more responsible sister. (Joan Cusack) Complications ensue as Helen has to make adjustments to her lifestyle as she tries to juggle it with her newly-found responsibilities. Along the way, she finds romance with a priest who works as a teacher at a school where she enrolls the kids.Overall, I thought this was a funny movie, even though it was a tad bit formulaic. (but then again, what movie isn't?) I enjoyed it when I saw it, and you might like it too. I loved the scene when they shopped for a new turtle. Kate Hudson was perfect in the lead role, and I thought the movie was well cast. I recommend this if you like comedies and Kate Hudson.*** out of ****