Molly - An American Girl on the Home Front (2006)

Disappointing

Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front is based on the excellent books by Valerie Tripp, about an 8-year-old girl growing up during World War 2. In the books she is excited to be doing her part, and while she wishes the war was not happening, she realizes that everyone on the home front needs to do their part to help the soldiers fighting in the war.
After the two other wonderful American Girl movies, this movie just doesn't cut it. In the books she tries to find the good part of everything; in the movie she is a borderline grouch, that always has to complain about something. To top it off the actors were terrible, Maya Ritter being one of the worst ones, portraying a stiff likeness of Molly.
Another thing I noticed was that Molly's two best friends (Linda and Susan) personalities were actually flipped in the movie! In the books Linda is the practical one, who always thinks through their plans, while Susan is the impractical dreamer of the trio. Everything that Linda said in the movie, I just KNEW Susan had said, and vice versa.
Also, the movie and the books were quite different. For one thing, where was Brad?!? In the books, he is Molly's younger brother, around the age of five. He definitely makes the books quite funny, and is just a cute addition to the family. In the movie he was nowhere to be found. Another thing is that they took a lot out. For example, in Molly's Surprise: A Christmas Story (Book 3) (American Girls Collection), Molly and her older sister find a Christmas package from their father. They hide the package until Christmas day, and then sneak it under the tree at midnight on Christmas Eve. This was not in the movie. Instead, the father was there giving presents to everyone, including Emily (who was not there in the books). I was happy to see though, that the presents he gives everyone are the same presents that he sends to them in the book.
On the upside, the bonus features are really good. One (which is my personal favorite), shows you, step-by-step the dance that Molly and the other girls in her dance class perform in the Christmas show! There are many other features that help to make this DVD worth buying.
All in all, this movie, while not as good as the others, is nice to have in your collection if you are a die-hard American Girl fan, such as myself. July 18, 2008

Molly, an American Girl Hero

If you are an American Girl fan, this DVD is a must. It is a great way to teach your daughter/granddaughter about American History. This movie takes you back to WWII and a family faced by the challenges of the war, both abroad and on the home front. Each main character in the American Girl series faces real-life problems and models strength of character. As a former 5th grade teacher, I would highly recommend it. June 9, 2008

Fun, educational and touching

This movie was great for our family. It gives children a little sense of the emotions young kids might feel as their families are affected by war. Molly has a selfish attitude at first, but learns to do her part to help in the war effort. I really enjoyed it. May 31, 2008

It was OK

It was ok, my favorite out of the American girl series is Felicity: an american girl adventure. I like the girl that played Susan, but i didn't like the girl that played Molly's Mom,[i can't remember her name] but other then that it wasn't to bad.I didn't like when they went to the dance thing for her birthday, that was boring. I hope this review has helped you! April 19, 2008

Molly - An American Girl; Laughably Bad

I have been a fan of the American Girl company for years (now owned by Mattel). I was excited to find the DVD available at the library and thought my six year old daughter and I would enjoy watching it. Wrong. When the Dad announced to the family that he had enlisted in the army (while they were in the basement during an air raid), my daughter decided it was going to be a scarey movie and we turned it off. I returned later, convinced the movie would be GREAT and watched it to the end. It soon became clear that this movie is laughably bad! So bad, it's funny. Molly Ringwald, who plays the Mom, was wooden throughout. I wonder who she annoyed in the Make-Up department. That orange lipstick is distracting! It seems like a satire! From the teacher learning that her fiance has been killed in the war (from a telegram delivered to her as she judged the spelling bee; she then, sobbing loudly, had to be assisted out of the auditorium) to the film clips of young English children leaving their families by train to the McIntire family appearing stricken every time their doorbell rang...laughably bad. The set, costumes, interior design are great. Lovely to look at. It's really unfortunate that the cast, acting and story line couldn't complete the lovely picture. February 24, 2008

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