I remember being eleven when I was given a VHS tape of Harriet the Spy for Christmas. I really enjoyed it; I was happy to find a kid's film that wasn't some Disney crud and wasn't overly strange. Based on a popular novel, Harriet is a misfit preteen aspiring author, bullied by a snobby girl in her class. She has two friends, a boy living on welfare (Sport) and a girl who wants to be a mad scientist (Jamie). She spends most of her time with her beloved nanny Golly (Rosie O'Donnell). When Golly takes Harriett and a boyfriend to the cinema without parental permission, she is fired, leaving Harriett to grow up on her own. When her private notebook (with some very revealing things about her peers written inside) is discovered, her entire class becomes increasingly cruel towards her, leaving her to seek revenge on each one... but she really just wants her friends back.
While Harriet the Spy is a lovable film no matter what your age, there was use of crude humor and mild swearing, fart jokes, etc. that got rather annoying after a while. As a kid I had very few friends, knew very little about society and didn't understand some of the things mentioned like the Nobel Peace Prize, Hitler and why Harriet was sent to a therapist, until a year or so later in my life. Still, the scene where Jamie's mother discovers her favorite Victoria's Secret leopard-print bra has been stolen by Jamie for a mold rowing experiment, I've always loved that scene. Harriet the Spy is also a movie that explains that two wrongs don't make a right, and that bullying somebody is wrong no matter what they've done, it just puts you down to their level of rationality. I honestly wish there were more movies for kids like this out there, because that god-awful My Little Pony crud TV show and the Hunger Games certainly aren't worth a dime compared to this memorable movie. The acting was great, the urban scenery dazzling and interesting and it closely follows the book. It's certainly worth watching, if you are sick of the garbage that's out today and want something different.
While Harriet the Spy is a lovable film no matter what your age, there was use of crude humor and mild swearing, fart jokes, etc. that got rather annoying after a while. As a kid I had very few friends, knew very little about society and didn't understand some of the things mentioned like the Nobel Peace Prize, Hitler and why Harriet was sent to a therapist, until a year or so later in my life. Still, the scene where Jamie's mother discovers her favorite Victoria's Secret leopard-print bra has been stolen by Jamie for a mold rowing experiment, I've always loved that scene. Harriet the Spy is also a movie that explains that two wrongs don't make a right, and that bullying somebody is wrong no matter what they've done, it just puts you down to their level of rationality. I honestly wish there were more movies for kids like this out there, because that god-awful My Little Pony crud TV show and the Hunger Games certainly aren't worth a dime compared to this memorable movie. The acting was great, the urban scenery dazzling and interesting and it closely follows the book. It's certainly worth watching, if you are sick of the garbage that's out today and want something different.