Parents' Guide to The Greening of Whitney Brown

Whitney isn't a particularly likable protagonist -- she's spoiled and self centered, like most rich kids in movies. "Country living" is supposed to cure her of her bratty behavior, but even once she learns to love Bob, get dirty, and sew, she's still not the sort of character most viewers will cheer. At the very least, Hanratty is a slightly better actress than her private-school pals, some of whom are so over the top with their cringe-worthy eye rolling and hair tossing that it's hard to watch them on screen.

What makes this particular tween confection unbearably unrealistic is how zen Whitney's parents are about their downward turn in fortune. Joan restarts a tradition by her late mother-in-law to make homemade jams on the farm, and even Henry seems more or less at peace with his return to the working class. Adding to the predictable plot is how Grandpa and Whitney get to know each other so well that they're sharing secrets by the end of the movie. Of all the characters in the movie, Bob the horse is clearly the most relatable. He just wants someone to ride him and show him the way. Horse-loving tweens may get a kick out of this story, but otherwise, you've already seen this fish out of water tale dozens of times.