The Nanny Express (2009)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Kate, played by 40 year old Vanessa Marcil, does not make sense. A woman like her, even if she is supposed to be low 30's, does not just exist for 15 or so years in the situation she is in, her father's health not withstanding. She goes somewhere; she doesn't sit still. She is intelligent, hard-working, motivated, and loving. But OK, let's accept that.Emily is a totally spoiled rich kid. She has learned she can get away with anything and do anything to the nannies, even in front of her father. Clearly her father has never disciplined her in any way, ever. True, much of the motivation is her deceased mother, but nevertheless, this behavior is ingrained in Emily and she is not going to magically change overnight.We have two good actors in the leads and we quickly see their attraction and we want it to happen. Marcil plays a wonderfully loving, patient, even nurturing woman.Kate's final effort to reach Emily so that she will "keep the faith" is huge and self-sacrificial. It could have been so much more emotionally, but the movie plays this through too quickly. Even so, I had tears.The movie also didn't quite sell David's love-sickness after Kate leaves. It was there for Emily to see, but we can't tell if she picked up on it. It kind of looks like she does, but the self-centered, pity-me girl we saw for most of the movie wouldn't have.And where did Emily go between the church scene and the school scene. Staging the final scene requires a gap here so that we can get the kids in the classroom, but the gap doesn't make sense.OK, so I've really torn this movie apart. But I so love Kate and her love that fills the movie from start to finish that I ended up really enjoying the movie.

Having read the reviews of this film here and on Amazon and Netflix, I wonder why those who don't like the Hallmark formula bother to watch. You know going in that the film will not be edgy, nor have overt violence, sex, or swearing, and will usually be predictable, prettier than life, and usually have some tearjerker sentimentality. This one does all these things, but I truly enjoyed it immensely. And by the way, I am not a conservative, as one reviewer believed anyone who likes this kind of fare must be. This film follows the "Sound of Music" plot points of a Nanny who takes on unruly children of a widower. Vanessa Marcil shines in the role, and the film also has small parts by veteran actors Stacy Keach and Dean Stockwell. Unlike the 20 or so previous nannies, this one soon wins over a young Uriah Shelton, the excellent star of the later 2011 film "Lifted", but can't make much progress with his 15 year old sister, who is still hurting over her mother's death in an accident. And while you know what will eventually happen, the performances and script are quite good overall, and this, at least for me, was one of the best Hallmark films. Have a Kleenex or two ready near the end. And if you don't like Hallmark films inherently, don't bother to watch and then knock it mercilessly.

Please note I lost interest in this film halfway through, so this is a slightly inaccurate review, but still display's my feeling's I felt while watching this. A typical cash-in of the ever-popular Nanny McPhee, this film boast's a typical family film character roster; bittersweet mother (or in this case, nanny), rebel teenager, deadbeat dad and a little brother who is mainly a supporting character and has little plot of his own. The film has little original content, a sick father that makes the viewer feel bad for not enjoying the film, but not much else. Humor? Nah, unless you are some 80's chap that always has their head in the past, at other family films, then yes, the whole thing is a comedy festival. There's soppy moment's and a dash of romance, nothing you haven't seen before. Unoriginal content, typical plot line and typical character development plus kids playing jokes, maturing and having boring paced character development, while the viewer has more idea what's going on moreso than the actor's make this film a real stinker.

Remember how the Von Trapp children got rid of a succession of governesses until Fraulein Maria showed up and captured their hearts as well as their widowed father. We have basically the same outline in this marvelous film.A woman with a tragic past, an ailing father and a mother already dead, becomes a nanny to two of the most obnoxious children imaginable. They have harassed previous nannies out but she turns the table on them and immediately wins the love and respect of the young son. Problem is that she can't get to first base with the 15 year old daughter. The latter is a conniving teenage stinker. When she sees that her father is falling for the nanny, she tries to get her dance instructor interested in her widowed father.This is also a story of human faith and perseverance. It works remarkably well with an outstanding cast.