The Return of Screwball?

Smart, quick-witted characters trading snappy dialogue in the middle of crazy situations fell out of favor long ago. Movies like "His Girl Friday" and "The Philadelphia Story" just don't get made anymore. When "What's Up, Doc?" was released in 1972 it came with the tagline, "A screwball comedy. Remember them?" 1972! So to see two screwball comedies getting released in the space of a month is a welcome sight. The upcoming "Leatherheads" with George Clooney (who also directed), Renee Zellweger, and "The Office's" John Krasinski promises to be an absolute blast. First up though is "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day," with two of the best actresses working today, Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. It's not as zany as "His Girl" or "Doc?" but it has enough screwball elements to qualify and that's good enough for me.
Guinevere Pettigrew (McDormand) is a British governess who has just lost another job. It's clear she's not bad at what she does, she just seems to rub her agency's high class clientele the wrong way, not to mention her boss who's not going to give Guinevere another "last chance." Out of desperation Guinevere breaks the rules, seemingly for the first time in her life, and sneaks off to the London home of American starlet Delysia Lafosse (Adams). Upon Guinevere's arrival, the two radically different women find themselves working together to get Phil out of the flat and clean up the mess of last night's party before the home's owner, Nick arrives. Guinevere and Delysia make an unlikely but effective team almost instantly. This early sequence is very long but very funny and it's a terrific showcase for McDormand and Adams.
The rest of the film takes place over the course of the day, with Delysia bringing Guinevere into a world she's only ever cleaned up after. Delysia also spends the day trying to decide between being with the young cad Phil (Tom Payne), the rich but controlling Nick (Mark Strong), or the poor but noble Michael (Lee Pace of "Pushing Daisies"). Guinevere knows the right choice as do we. Meanwhile Guinevere herself meets Joe (the always dependable Ciaran Hinds), a man in the world of British high society but not of it. However, his engagement to the vindictive Edythe (the great Shirley Henderson) is a serious problem.
With a screenplay by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy and directed by Bharat Nalluri, "Miss Pettigrew" often feels like a play on film, but for this kind of movie it works. This is the sort of film that's all about great actors trading great lines with the occasional moment of physical comedy in between.
Like the character she plays, McDormand is the definition of professional. It's nice to see her in a lead role again. As for Adams, she can add screwball comedy to the list of things she excels at as an actress. She's going to be around long after Jessica Alba and Lindsay Lohan have been forgotten.
The outcome is predictable and it's lighter than light but that's as it should be. At one point Guinevere asks Joe, "Am I that old fashioned?"
"Yes," he replies. "And all the better for it." So is this movie. 8/10.