fbpx

KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL

"Great Hardship & Great Triumph"

Watch:

What You Need To Know:

KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL stars Abigail Breslin in the title role. Kit is an American girl living in Cincinnati during the Great Depression. Kit seems to be living the ideal life. One day Kit is helping at the soup kitchen and sees her father in the line. He has lost his job! He heads off to Chicago from Cincinnati to get a new job. To survive, Kit’s mother starts taking in boarders. One of them is a magician who seems to be a little too good to be true. Then, somebody steals the lock box with all the rent. Hoboes are being accused of thefts throughout Ohio, and Kit has to solve the mystery of the stolen goods with her girlfriends and young boyfriend.

KIT KITTREDGE starts slow and lyrical but ends with a heartfelt wallop. The casting is superb, including Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin. One problem is that the movie’s moral worldview is confused by a Robin Hood theme that is ultimately resolved. The bad guys get caught. Good triumphs. The impossible happens. And, a Thanksgiving scene is truly a scene of celebration in a positive spiritual sense.

Content:

(B, L, V, A) Light moral worldview slightly confused by a Robin Hood theme that is ultimately addressed with one positive reference to thanking “the good Lord,” a little girl initiation ceremony into their tree house with mumbo jumbo invocations and references to becoming one, a strong sense of self-reliance, a strong rebuke of discrimination, and a moral message that crime doesn’t pay; one light profanity (Oh God); some lightweight slapstick violence such as mobile librarian keeps running her truck into things and hits bad guy on back of head with shovel, several pratfalls; hugging and kissing within family; no nudity; toasting with wine at Thanksgiving; no smoking; and, nothing else objectionable.

More Detail:

KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL starts slow and lyrical but ends with a big heartfelt wallop. The original American girl stories were very Christian in their faith-filled history. KIT KITTREDGE, played by Abigail Mason, is one of the newer American girls from the time period of the Great Depression. These stories do not have the strong Christian faith histories.

In the beginning of the movie, Kit seems to be living the ideal life. She wants to be a reporter. She lives in a beautiful house. Her father is a successful automobile salesman. There are signs of problems looming all around her, however.

Kit runs into two hoboes, a young white man and a seemingly black boy. When she brings them to her home so they can work for food, her mother is having a garden party and her mother’s friends are shocked that the hoboes would be anywhere near them. The Great Depression evidently has taken its toll on many lives, and it is about to take its toll in 1934 on Kit’s family.

One day Kit is helping at the soup kitchen, and she sees her father in the line. He has lost his job! He heads off to Chicago from Cincinnati to get a new job.

Kit finds out from the hoboes that there’s a hobo camp where many of the people came from respectable backgrounds and lost everything they had. To survive, Kit’s mother starts taking in boarders. One of them is a magician who seems to be a little too good to be true.

Then, somebody steals the lock box with all the rent. Hoboes are being accused of thefts throughout Ohio, and Kit has to solve the mystery of the stolen goods with her girlfriends and young boyfriend.

The ending of AMERICAN GIRL is one of the most satisfying in recent memory and is reminiscent of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. The first part of the movie misses its plot point and develops a little too slowly. Abigail Breslin is such a winsome actress, however, that no one may notice. There is great authenticity in the music, the settings and the direction. The casting is superb.

One problem area is that the librarian gives the hobo a book about Robin Hood. A little later, the core group of friends and family agree that stealing from the rich is a good idea. This is ultimately rebuked, but the rebuke might not be clear enough for little children. A lesser problem is that Kit has a tree house where her girlfriends gather and perform silly secret initiation ceremonies. Finally, the movie’s message seems to be that, with the right attitude, one can deal with any problem, a similar message to NIM’S ISLAND. The good news, however, is the fact that the hobo makes a positive reference to thank the good Lord, and a Thanksgiving scene is truly a scene of celebration in a positive spiritual sense.

In KIT KITTREDGE, the bad guys get caught; good triumphs; and, the impossible happens. Thus, KIT KITTREDGE ultimately is a good family movie, but younger children should be advised about the Robin Hood theme.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.