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Raising Helen

Raising Helen

Drama · Comedy · Romance · 2004

Helen Harris has a glamorous, big-city life working for one of New York's hottest modeling agencies. But suddenly her free-spirited life gets turned upside down when she must choose between the life she's always loved, and the new loves of her life!

Movie details

Raising Helen

“Her uptown life gets turned inside out!”

2004 Drama · Comedy · Romance 1h 59m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

Helen Harris has a glamorous, big-city life working for one of New York's hottest modeling agencies. But suddenly her free-spirited life gets turned upside down when she must choose between the life she's always loved, and the new loves of her life!

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Raising Helen?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Garry Marshall

Written by

Michael Begler · Jack Amiel · Beth Rigazio · Patrick J. Clifton

Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson

Helen Harris

John Corbett

John Corbett

Pastor Dan Parker

Joan Cusack

Joan Cusack

Jenny Portman

Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Panettiere

Audrey Davis

Spencer Breslin

Spencer Breslin

Henry Davis

Abigail Breslin

Abigail Breslin

Sarah Davis

Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren

Dominique Courier

Court is in session

Put Raising Helen on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.