The books have been out of print for years, and might have languished in obscurity forever but for the wonderful, Oscar winning actress and screenwriter, Emma Thompson. She remembered the books and thought they would make a wonderful screenplay. She probably also wanted to write herself a starring role, which none of the goofballs in Hollywood seem prepared to offer. It’s sad when one of our most charming and gifted actresses has to write her own movie simply to get on screen, but ageism is a fact of life many actresses of a certain age must deal with every day. Fortunately Thompson, who turns 47 this year, is as talented a writer as she is an actress. Her Nanny McPhee, is, to put it mildly, riveting.

Here’s the lowdown: Mr. Brown (the luscious to look at Colin Firth) is both the village undertaker and a widower with seven truly horrid children. They’ve run through 17 nannies, chasing the latest one off by pretending to eat their baby sister. (There’s a very macabre, dark humor running through the film, but with Thompson’s deft touch, it’s handled so well there’s nothing to offend the sensibilities of small children).

When a desperate Mr. Brown goes to the agency to hire nanny 18, the shades are drawn, the door is locked, and they won’t let him him, claiming there are no more nannies to be had. Meanwhile, back at the manse, the children are terrorizing the cook while the house maid, Evangeline, (played by the lovely Kelly MacDonald) tries to calm the situation.

It seems that ever since Mrs. Brown passed on, which must have been very recently considering the age of the baby, Mr. Brown has been sunk in his grief, distracted and utterly unable to care for his children. That lack of paternal attention coupled with the death of their mother has launched the children on an escalating path of destruction. Nothing is safe when they go on a rampage.

As Mr. Brown is leaving the agency, a disembodied voice tells him, “The person you need is Nanny McPhee.” He of course ignores it, but a business card floats out of the mail slot and lands in his hands.

When he gets home, he once again overlooks his children’s needs, preferring to retire to the parlor with his newspaper. Then a classified ad practically jumps out at him. “The person you need is Nanny McPhee.” Of course, he ignores this too, but Mr. Brown is beginning to get a bit rattled.

Finally, when the children are being so egregiously naughty their misbehavior is actually threatening the life of the baby, Nanny McPhee shows up. Her appearance is not only repulsive, it’s downright frightening. I had to really stare hard to convince myself the beautiful Emma Thompson was underneath all that latex and glue.

How can I describe her? Nanny McPhee is huge, about the size of a double wide, but even more intimidating. She’s dressed in black from head to toe, and that only adds to her formidable mien.

Nanny McPhee is also monstrously ugly. I almost couldn’t bear to look at her. She has three large, dark brown moles, and her nose is gigantic and ungainly, sitting uncomfortably in the middle of her face like a sausage that’s fallen out of a shopping cart. To say she immediately commanded the children’s attention is an understatement.

She carries a wooden walking stick that turns out to be both the source of her mysterious, magical power and her authority. The children believe she’s a witch, and perhaps she is, but she’s there to sort them out, and their father as well.

Mr. Brown’s problem is that his late wife’s aunt supports the family, and she’s threatening to withdraw the allowance unless Mr. Brown marries within a month. There are no suitable women around, but the one quite unsuitable widow Mr. Brown casts his eye upon, the aptly named Mrs. Quickly, (Celia Imrie) contributes many merry moments.

Mary Poppins may have given medicine in a no-nonsense manner, but she did it with a spoonful of sugar. Nanny McPhee has no time for such niceties. When the children pretend to be sick, she administers a potion so thick, so vile, that it appears to be alive with unnamed awful things swimming about in the spoon.

The rebellious children soon learn a firm tap of Nanny McPhee’s walking stick upon the ground makes magic, and they also learn she has only their best interests at heart. Of course, there are many funny moments before the children get to that point of realization, but it’s not long before Nanny McPhee has molded the Browns back into a proper family once again. And need I say that all ends well?

Nanny McPhee is a wonderful family film, funny, engaging, highly entertaining and highly recommended. Take your kids to see it this weekend.




Recommended:
Yes