Nanny McPhee (2005) short review

A slight entertainment: nothing offensive, nothing great. Emma Thompson stars as the title character, a magical nanny who arrives to deal with Colin Firth’s obnoxious children. She teaches them various lessons while dad attempts to save his family by becoming engaged to the most horridly fabulous woman imaginable (Celia Imrie, shining as Mrs. Quickly). Kelly MacDonald is very sweet as the family’s maid and Angela Landsbury is great as domineering Aunt Adelaide. The costuming is very silly and period-esque — they were trying for 1880s-ish, but definitely having fun with it (see Mrs. Quickly’s outstanding wardrobe). Worth a watch on cable, but I really wouldn’t spend too much money on it (again, not bad, but not terribly special either).

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About the author

Kendra

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Kendra has been a fixture in the online costuming world since the late 1990s. Her website, Démodé Couture, is one of the most well-known online resources for historical costumers. In the summer of 2014, she published a book on 18th-century wig and hair styling. Kendra is a librarian at a university, specializing in history and fashion. She’s also an academic, with several articles on fashion history published in research journals.