Great Family Movie: Kit Kittredge, An American Girl

I cried throughout the G-rated movie, Kit Kittredge, An American Girl. This was a good thing.

It's just that for the first time in I don't know how long, I could sit through an entire movie targeting the tween set (ages 8-12, approximately) and not cringe, wince, or moan. Not even once.

And for the first time in, oh, forever, I could sit alongside my nine-year-old daughter and not only delight in her company, but feel good about the messages she was receiving from images on a screen - messages about compassion, pride, tenacity, and perseverance.

For that I have to thank the film's director and producers, who include Patricia Rozema, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Lisa Gillan, Ellen Brothers, Marisa Yeres, and Julia Roberts (yes - that Julia Roberts), and, of course, the savvy advertising agency that gave me and my daughter the opportunity to pre-screen the movie.

Rest assured, we'll be seeing it again.

Kit Kittredge, An American Girl is the first feature film based on the American Girl series of dolls and books, a phenomenon as frighteningly popular as it is refreshing and pure. In this age of suggestive Dollz, virtual worlds, dubious Disneyfied role models, and contradictory messages about sex, violence, success, and power bombarding kids from every angle, the whole American Girl concept is a breath of fresh air.

As is the movie, which stars the lovely young talent Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, Nim's Island) in the lead role as Kit Kittredge, and a bevy of supporting stars to round out the cast, the likes of which include Joan Cusack (love her!), Chris O'Donnell, Julia Ormond, Stanley Tucci, and Jane Krakowski - as well as Will Smith's adorable daughter and Max Thieriot, a teen heart throb on the rise.

Set in Cincinnati, Ohio at the dawn of the Great Depression, the story of Kit Kittredge paints a picture of a time in American history that seems eerily familiar today - a time in which unemployment and financial woes stressed families to the breaking point, a time when no family was immune to the real threats of hunger and homelessness.

Through Kit's eyes we experience the Depression as it rolls over her community like a terrible wave, wrenching families apart and bringing new ones together. Desperate times, as well as the desperate measures of the times, are presented in a sweet and age-appropriate way, but never sugar-coated. Even the most stoic of moviegoers will grow misty-eyed as the lively plot unfolds and the engaging characters navigate their survival in an uncertain world.

If you ask me, a movie like Kit Kittredge, An American Girl is exactly what all of us need right about now - and especially all of us American girls, boys, women, and men.

For a detailed synopsis of the movie, I would encourage you to check out Roger Ebert's review, and certainly, if you're looking for some wholesome, heartwarming, and educational family entertainment this summer, go see this movie.

You'll be pleasantly surprised by the experience, as I was, and might even find yourself reaching for a tissue.