Molly – An American Girl On the Home Front (DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Feature: B-
I had
never heard of Valerie Tripp’s American
Girl book series before, especially since the few books we get to around
here for review are for adults. However,
after watching Joyce Chopra’s Molly – An
American Girl On the Home Front feature adaptation of one of the most
popular characters from that series, I was impressed enough to think that a
smart book series more people should have heard of might get new exposure.
Taking
place in the U.S. during WWII, Molly (Maya Ritter) has a group of friends who
live in the middle of the sacrifices of the period while growing up. She also has good parents, but like so many
others, are either taking part in the war effort or getting extra work to
survive. There are rations and suddenly,
they get a visitor from England in the form of a new classmate in school. They have some amusing misconceptions about
her (like knowing royalty), but there are sadder undertones for all and makes
for great young adult entertainment with some heart and soul. Molly Ringwald also stars.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot in digital High Definition, but
has better than usual color, even when it looks soft. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix has ambiance and
some character, but is nothing spectacular.
The combination is still good enough for its young audience to find it
rewatchable. A few featurettes about the
film are included, but that is all the extras here. Hope we see a follow-up.
- Nicholas Sheffo
