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Parents' Guide to

A Little Help

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

One strong performance in otherwise negative adult drama.

Movie R 2011 108 minutes
A Little Help Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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Michael J. Weithorn, a sitcom writer, producer, and director, makes his feature writing and directing debut here, and the result is a case of throwing in too much drama with too little payoff. Recounting the list of things that go wrong during the movie is an almost comical experience -- and, indeed, the movie tries to offer some black humor from time to time to lighten things up. The best and funniest it can manage is a patient's-POV shot of Laura working in her dentist's office, pestered by a noisy parrot squawking behind her.

All this stuff fails, and though the movie can't possibly wrap up all its dramatic threads in any realistic manner, the way it abruptly leaves off is just as dissatisfying. The upside is that all this drama gives Fischer plenty to do (even her girl-next-door beauty is a factor), and she doesn't waste the opportunity. Hopefully it will make a nice calling card for future, better movies.

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