Nanny McPhee

Nanny McPhee
A large family of 7 children with only a father frightens the nanny away.  This has happened many times before we pick up the story.  The last Nanny runs away when the children apparently eat the baby.  That was one of the least convincing parts of the film.  So an ugly super-natural Nanny arrives, with a number of lessons to teach the children.  There are a few other stories running throughout the film.  Will the father marry the housemaid, who is the only one the children like, and is also the only one who likes the children?  Will the horrid old aunt keep supporting them as she has promised?  Will the children learn their lessons?

Will the film live up to the opportunities of the plot?  This one I will answer. No, it does not.  There are plenty of opportunities, but somehow we never get there.  The children aren’t nasty enough, by half.  Think of Wednesday in the Adams family, she was nastier than the whole bunch of them put together.  What of Nanny McPhee, who appears next to people and says “I did knock”.  Think of a scary Mary Poppins, if that doesn’t work for you, you’ll start to understand why this film doesn’t work either.  There are some redeeming features.  The gay morticians, who managed not to say ‘suit you sir’, and the cook (Imelda Staunton) are both genuine clowns.