Kit Catastrophe of a Movie

Leave it to Chuck to find the good in a movie that even his eight-year-old daughter begged him to ditch.

by Chuck Nice

A washed-out Fourth of July turned into a perfect reason to go to the movies. Of course, whenever I say that I'm going to the movies, it turns into a perfect excuse to spend some time with my daughter, or as she calls it, "a chance to get away from the little monster"--my two-year-old son. We decided on Kit Kittredge an American Girl, and by we, I mean she. Oh goody, another opportunity for me to learn more about the minds of prepubescent young girls, this time during the Great Depression. The film moved with the lightning-quick speed of a shifting glacier, and less than halfway through my eight-year-old daughter whispered to me, "We should have seen Get Smart. Can we leave now?" Even though she was right, I told her we had to stay so that I could blog about the movie. Her face lit up like Christmas morning in WhoVille, and she asked if she could blog as well. I said yes because I never turn down an occasion to encourage her creativity, and including an excerpt from her means less work for me. So here it is:

Hi. I am Chuck's daughter. Oh, I'm sorry; I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Morgan and I am eight and I am the one who is writing this 600-word blog and I'm not getting paid. So let me get right down to the point. My dad and me went to see Kit Kittredge. Yahoo. Wow. If you want to ruin your holiday weekend then go see this movie. When we walked into the theater all we saw were seven people and I thought in my mind this is going to be one corny granddaughter-little-old-lady film. So 10 minutes into the movie I have this urge to see another movie. So I said to my dad "could we see a different movie?" Then my dad starts to laugh and I say no, seriously, this movie stinks.

The blog continues in like manner; clearly, my daughter was less than impressed with the film.

It is set during the Great Depression and begins with the foreclosure on the home of Kit's best friend's family. Talk about good times. I could have just had my daughter sit down with my dad and listen to how, as a child, he had to make his own toys out of deceased relatives because they couldn't afford to bury them (I can only assume he made them into marionette puppets). Truly, the movie wasn't about toughing it out during times of financial hardship; the true message of the movie is one that's too complex for any eight- year-old to grasp--being a great father. I'm not going to pontificate about what makes a great dad, but I do know that I am one. If you're a man and you can't say that, then chances are you suck at fatherhood...unless you're like Kevin Federline and you're just delusional. Stop being judgmental, Chuck!

A key subplot of the movie is the break-up of many families, due to the fathers having to go and search for work, and most of those dads ultimately lose touch with their families because they're caught up in trying to provide for them. I know how that can be. I have no less than five jobs and they demand a tremendous amount of my time. Sometimes I feel like I'm in that In Living Color skit about the Jamaican family where each person has 14 jobs, mon. But whenever I have a free moment I give it to my children, because that's all they really want. Mom will always love you, somehow you just know that; but dads better prove it--and get nothing in return--and like it. I know that is my lot as a father and my only reward; it's like life is saying "Thanks for playing Dads. We have some lovely parting gifts for you. Now get out there and bust your rump and you better not bitch about it." But that's cool with me.

So I'm glad I saw Kit Kittredge, because I saw it as a film that says "Way to go dad." Even if it wasn't, I take a compliment any way I can get it.