MOLLY: 

AN AMERICAN GIRL ON THE HOME FRONT

REVIEWED BY RISSI C.

Our rating: 5 out of 5

Rated:

I have seen both Samantha and Felicity, so when I read that Molly was coming to DVD last November, I was so excited to see another American Girl movie. I absolutely loved the first two, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed in this one.

Ten-year-old Molly McIntire (Maya Ritter) lives in 1944 America during World War II. Her father James (David Aaron Baker) is a doctor at the local hospital and her mother Helen (Molly Ringwald) is a homemaker. With a war going on over in England, Molly feels safe and secure in her world, while her older sister Jill (Genevieve Farrell) is a realistic young lady who thinks everyone should do their part to help the men fighting. When their dad announces he will be joining the war effort as an army doctor, Molly is devastated. During her Dad’s absence, Molly’s Mom decide to take a job at the local airplane factory. With her world turned upside down, Molly attempts to keep her life as normal as possible with school and going to the movies with her two best friends Linda (Samantha Somer Wilson) and Susan (Hannah Fleming).

When Mrs. McIntire takes in a young English girl Emily (Tory Green), Molly has to deal with jealousy towards her, after all of the kids at school believe Emily has met the royal princesses Margaret Rose and Elizabeth, and her teacher Miss Campbell (Sarah Manninen) enter her in the class spelling bee. With Emily the center of attention Molly avoids her whenever she can. As life carries on without their dad, the McIntires learn that he has been listed as missing in action. Hurting for her new friend, Emily tries to keep the family encouraged and to not loose hope. With the help of her friends and family Molly slowly comes to realize that even though they live in America, they still need to do everything possible to help the men who are fighting to keep them safe on the Home front.

The content in this movie is very minimal. Emily lies about her life over in England and later tells Molly the truth and realizes that it was wrong. Molly talks back to her dad on one occasion. I have felt that the first two American girls were perfectly cast, but was disappointed in Maya Ritter. While I thought she looked the part, I didn’t feel she was a wonderful little actress. I was more impressed with Tory Green, who played the part of Emily perfectly. The adults were all well chosen. I especially enjoyed Sarah Manninen and David Aaron Baker.

I still gave Molly a five because there is nothing inappropriate in it; I just didn’t feel it was as well done as the other films in the series. One thing I like about all three of the American Girl films is the fact that the families in the stories are close and have wonderful relationships with each other, something that is a rare find today. If your daughter is an American Girl fan or you are just looking for a clean and enjoyable movie, the three films are excellent choices. In the end I actually would recommend Molly, because it’s refreshing to find something you can sit down and watch with your family, not having to worry about anything inappropriate in the next scene.