In a grim orphanage in rural England, Molly (Cassidy) has grown up amid the tyranny of headmistress Miss Adderstone (Manville), the kind words of Miss Trinklebury (Watson) and the terrible cooking of Edna (Imrie). When her best pal Rocky (Morris) is adopted by a London couple (Miller and Frost), Molly puts to use the hypnosis powers she has learned from a book. But as she tracks him down, she's sidetracked using her skills to become the newest singing-dancing sensation. Meanwhile, wannabe crook Nockman (Monaghan) is trying to get his hands on the book.

The movie is lively and so loose that it feels half-planned. There's some snappy interaction, and moments that are sharp-edged or even downright nasty, but most of the movie is simply cartoonish. Director Rowley indulges in wacky effects, sappy emotion and awkwardly staged action, working with a script so generic and frantic that nothing ever gains traction. And most characters are broadly overacted by the starry cast.

Cassidy has enough presence to create a believable urchin, generating some nice camaraderie with the other orphans and the emotive, underserved Watson. By contrast, Monaghan's crook is never more than a slapstick villain with a demanding mother (a full-on Collins). And while Manville is clearly having a ball stampeding over everyone, the general direction to the cast seems to have been, "Ham it up for all you're worth."

Properly nutty movies require a lot more skill than is demonstrated here. And the ultimate message about being honest with yourself and others rings extra hollow because the movie is so relentlessly trite about big issues like adoption, theft and child endangerment. It may just be a silly adventure, but the second act is devoted to a precocious pre-teen who steals fame and fortune by hypnotising everyone into thinking she has talent. Which of course is a dangerous fantasy to encourage, because it seems to happen rather frequently in the real world.

themes, language

9.Aug.15