definitely doesn't raise the bar, but...

If you're in the mood some night for a movie that doesn't challenge your intellect or emotions in any way, "Raising Helen" is the film for you. Charming enough because of Kate Hudson, whose smile alone is worth the price of admission - and she smiles a lot in the course of the movie. A LOT. And she has a lot to smile about, considering that her entire life is turned upside down but she manages to make the most serious changes without even mussing her hair up. It's a fantasy, of course, bearing no resemblance to real life, which is always fun sometimes, and there's the wonderful Helen Mirren, the great Joan Cusack, and the always-attractive John Corbett to add interest to the proceedings.

Garry Marshall, of course, isn't big on subtlety, but to his credit the film never actually gets heavy-handed or stupid, and there is a subtle part: at the beginning of the film, Helen (Kate's character) smokes like a chimney, but after she's saddled with her sister's children, we see her wearing a nicotine patch, but nothing is ever mentioned about it. I appreciated that. For an evening out, you could do worse.