“Nanny McPhee” (Universal Pictures)
Not Your Father’s Mary Poppins
Emma Thompson displays common sense and honest sensibility in the title role of Nanny McPhee. Her performance is only one of the delights awaiting audiences in this magical fable that will touch your funny bone and your heart. This Nanny may not be in the Mary Poppins mold but she is a joy to behold just the same.
Cedric Brown (Colin Firth) is a widower with seven children – seven out of control children. They have run off seventeen nannies and there are not any names left at the local agency. His great-aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) has threatened to cut off his allowance if he does not remarry in a month, and he doesn’t have any prospects there either. Plus that allowance is the only thing keeping a roof over their heads.
Enter Nanny McPhee (Thompson). A “government” nanny is what she calls herself, as she did not come from any local agency. She is a hideous looking creature with two huge warts on her face, a bulbous nose, and a tooth that hangs down almost to her chin. But she seems to have some type of power that works in making children better behaved.
Even with Nanny McPhee in his corner, Cedric still has problems. He has to find a wife, and this leads him to the “anxious to marry” widow Selma Quickley (Celia Imrie). The children do not want him to marry her but a man has to do what a man has to do. Can Nanny McPhee save Cedric like she saved the children Maybe so!
Emma Thompson is a delight in any role she undertakes and this is one of her best. She manages to peep out from beneath the outer trappings of warts and all to reveal a beautiful soul underneath. Nanny McPhee also manages to become more and more beautiful as the children become better and better behaved.
Firth is very good as Cedric, a well-intentioned man but a befuddled one. He and Thompson both starred in “Love Actually” as did Thomas Sangster who plays Simon, Cedric’s eldest son. The same chemistry that existed between the actors in that great film is here in this new one.
It is great to see Angela Lansbury back on the screen in a role worthy of her talent. She is comical and unique as Adelaide and makes the most of every scene she is in.
Thew film is rated PG for comic violence.
Adults and children alike can get into the magical glow of “Nanny McPhee.” It is a movie that weaves a spell of enchantment and entertainment. Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay and stars in the film and that is two big plusses. Everything else is just marshmallows and cherries on top.
I scored “Nanny McPhee” a Poppins 8 out of 10.
