MOLLY: AN AMERICAN GIRL ON THE HOME FRONT
Starring: Maya Ritter, Molly Ringwald, David Aaron Baker, Sarah Manninen
Original Airdate: 2006
Genre: Family/Historical
I tried to avoid the American Girl craze growing up. I remember seeing the books at the library, but they didn't interest me. Historical fiction? Yawn, please. Then one day my uncle gave me two of the books about Molly. I read them and found them to be easy to read and enjoyable. And once when I was babysitting, after the kids had gone to bed and I was bored, I picked up an American Girl catalog that the family had lying around. Welcome to the world of dolls nobody should be able to afford! I remember liking Samantha's haircut. If anyone who knows me wants to know what inspired me to get bangs at age 14, blame Samantha the American Girl. I am so not making this up.
Anyyyway, there is no shortage of American Girl stuff out there, and along the way somebody thought American Girl TV-movies were in order. 2004 brought about Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, about the Victorian-era American Girl. In 2005, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure told the story of a young girl in America's colonial times. A feature film based on yet another American Girl, Kit, is set to be released in theaters in 2008 and will star Abigail Breslin. But today we're here to talk about Molly, a 9-year-old living during World War II, who got her very own TV-movie in 2006.
Okay, so I've only read a few of the Molly books, but I recognized that several of the plots from the books had made it into this movie. While the storylines may not follow the books exactly -- and Molly's younger brother is notably absent -- the casting and set decorations near-perfectly mirror the illustrations in the books. I was impressed.
It is 1943, and Molly McIntyre's childhood has already been inconvenienced many times over by air raid drills and having to ration household items. This year is proving to be the most difficult year of all. Many people in Molly's life are losing loved ones over in Europe. Molly's father, a doctor, is compelled to lend his services overseas. The McIntryres are devastated by this new separation, especially Molly. But she tries to make the best of things. Then one day, another change comes into her life -- the McIntyres take in an English girl, Emily, who is exactly Molly's age. At first Emily seems like a snob, but soon she begins to open up, and she and Molly eventually become good friends.
One scene that I really enjoyed was one between Molly and her mother. Molly, who has been told by her neighbor-babysitter that she must eat her mashed turnips before she can get up from the table, winds up sitting at the table for hours. When Mrs. McIntyre comes home from work, she kindly re-heats the turnips for Molly in a frying pan, and graciously adds a little butter and sugar. Whether it's the sugar and butter, or her mother's kindness that make the turnips edible, I can't say, but Molly is now able to eat them.
"You know, Molly," her mother says softly. "Sometimes we have to do things whether we like to or not, even when there's no one around to sweeten the taste."
How true, I thought. And a perfect quote for a girl of Molly's age, who still relies on her parents for so much but who is also becoming independent and resourceful.
While the movie has many melancholy moments, it also has plenty of happy ones. I really enjoyed it! I wasn't expecting much... last week I watched the Samantha movie, and save for the make-me-cry subplot on adopting orphans, I felt the movie was pretty lame and the acting was even worse. The Molly movie made up for it.
I'm not feeling enough love to go out and pay $87 for the Molly doll, though.
5/2/2007
(c)2007 AlligatorJuice.com
