Overview
It's a movie for everyone whose life has been thrown off-course, out of whack, or simply not turned out the way they planned it. In other words, it's a movie for everyone, period. Set in suburban Long Island in the summer of 2002, with the psychic wounds of 9/11 still fresh, A Little Help is a story that takes a comic, searching and profoundly empathetic look at a few pivotal months in the life of dental hygienist Laura Pehlke (Jenna Fischer)-an ordinary woman whose life suddenly flies off the rails-and her heroic efforts to re-establish a sense of security and normalcy for herself and her son.
This is a very uneven movie. I get that the main character is supposed to be beaten down by her family and life, but…. wow, that was a lot of beating down. The setup (beatdown) isn’t entertaining, nor was the resolution. I would also think that Jenna Fischer may have gone to the well one too many times with this kind of role. We’ve seen this theme done better in plenty of other movies.
IHATEBadMovies.com reviews A Little Help
Movie title: A Little Help
Movie description: It's a movie for everyone whose life has been thrown off-course, out of whack, or simply not turned out the way they planned it. In other words, it's a movie for everyone, period. Set in suburban Long Island in the summer of 2002, with the psychic wounds of 9/11 still fresh, A Little Help is a story that takes a comic, searching and profoundly empathetic look at a few pivotal months in the life of dental hygienist Laura Pehlke (Jenna Fischer)-an ordinary woman whose life suddenly flies off the rails-and her heroic efforts to re-establish a sense of security and normalcy for herself and her son.
Date published: 2025-08-10
Director(s): Michael J. Weithorn
Actor(s): Jenna Fischer, Chris O'Donnell, Kim Coates, Lesley Ann Warren, Sara Kapner, Brooke Smith, Daniel Yelsky, Jay Klaitz, Rob Benedict, Zach Page, Sarah Wilson, Sam McMurray, James Rebhorn, Joy Suprano, Ron Leibman, Michelle Hurst, Matt Oberg, Douglas Lipman, Carla Briscoe, Elaine Kussack, Brandon Perler, Miles Williams, Arden Myrin, Nadia Dajani, Gracie Lawrence, Dion DiMucci, Jim Florentine, Kristen Boulé, Lynn Cohen, Shari Albert, Aida Turturro, Jacob Levine, Millie Trachtenberg
Genre: Drama, Comedy
My Review
This is a very uneven movie. I get that the main character is supposed to be beaten down by her family and life, but…. wow, that was a lot of beating down. The setup (beatdown) isn’t entertaining, nor was the resolution. I would also think that Jenna Fischer may have gone to the well one too many times with this kind of role. We’ve seen this theme done better in plenty of other movies.
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My Review - 5/10
5/10