Cincinnatti, Ohio, heartland of America, hit hard by the depression. All the small kids knew was that whenever your family resorted to selling eggs, you were about to lose your home.
Cute 11 year old Abigail Breslin is Margaret Mildred Kittredge, 'Kit' for short. She is in an ideal family, until ... dad's business goes under and he has to go find work elsewhere. He goes to Chicago. In one scene after dad has been gone for a while Kit says, "If you are not working in Chicago, why can't you NOT work here?"
Kit's mom is Julia Ormond as Margaret Kittredge, and her dad is Chris O'Donnell as Jack Kittredge.
Kit's mom has to resort to taking in boarders to make ends meet and keep the house from foreclosure. It becomes quite a varied group, with a dancer, Jane Krakowski as Miss May Dooley. A mobile library driver, Joan Cusack as Miss Lucinda Bond. A woman, Glenne Headly as Louise Howard, plus her young son. And a magician, Stanley Tucci as Jefferson Jasper Berk.
Meanwhile Kit is pursuing her ambition to write articles for the Cincinnatti newspaper, where the editor is Wallace Shawn as Mr. Gibson. At first they just laugh at her, who ever heard of a kid writing articles for the newspaper. But she keeps on trying.
There are a couple of hobos, Max Thieriot as Will Shepherd and Willow Smith as Countee Garby. They end up doing odd jobs around the house and get food in return. Plus friendship from Kit and the other kids.
A crisis arises when the lockbox in the Kittredge house turns up missing, and clues lead police to suspect it was a hobo, perhaps even Will. But Kit doesn't believe it and puts her investigative skills, a sort of Nancy Drew approach, to work helping solve the crime.
Overall a good movie, entertaining with some good actors.
SPOILERS: The crime was a product of the magician, his friend, and the mobile librarian. But Kit hides in the car when they go to dig up the buried treasure. In the process she clears the name of the hobos and the Kitredges keep their home. During Thanksgiving dinner dad shows up again.
Cute 11 year old Abigail Breslin is Margaret Mildred Kittredge, 'Kit' for short. She is in an ideal family, until ... dad's business goes under and he has to go find work elsewhere. He goes to Chicago. In one scene after dad has been gone for a while Kit says, "If you are not working in Chicago, why can't you NOT work here?"
Kit's mom is Julia Ormond as Margaret Kittredge, and her dad is Chris O'Donnell as Jack Kittredge.
Kit's mom has to resort to taking in boarders to make ends meet and keep the house from foreclosure. It becomes quite a varied group, with a dancer, Jane Krakowski as Miss May Dooley. A mobile library driver, Joan Cusack as Miss Lucinda Bond. A woman, Glenne Headly as Louise Howard, plus her young son. And a magician, Stanley Tucci as Jefferson Jasper Berk.
Meanwhile Kit is pursuing her ambition to write articles for the Cincinnatti newspaper, where the editor is Wallace Shawn as Mr. Gibson. At first they just laugh at her, who ever heard of a kid writing articles for the newspaper. But she keeps on trying.
There are a couple of hobos, Max Thieriot as Will Shepherd and Willow Smith as Countee Garby. They end up doing odd jobs around the house and get food in return. Plus friendship from Kit and the other kids.
A crisis arises when the lockbox in the Kittredge house turns up missing, and clues lead police to suspect it was a hobo, perhaps even Will. But Kit doesn't believe it and puts her investigative skills, a sort of Nancy Drew approach, to work helping solve the crime.
Overall a good movie, entertaining with some good actors.
SPOILERS: The crime was a product of the magician, his friend, and the mobile librarian. But Kit hides in the car when they go to dig up the buried treasure. In the process she clears the name of the hobos and the Kitredges keep their home. During Thanksgiving dinner dad shows up again.