I'm told that bringing children into your life is a marvelous way to straighten out your priorities and determine what's
really important. I'm told this most often by movies, every time a new one comes out with this theme, which is approximately once a month. If I had kids, and if I had therefore already learned this for myself, I would probably be even more tired of the movies telling me about it than I already am. Oh, but I'm being churlish already, and "Raising Helen" isn't a bad movie, just an unoriginal one, following in the footsteps of "Big Daddy," "Uptown Girls," "Family Man" and countless others. These films follow this pattern: The protagonist is either a workaholic or a slacker, he or she suddenly has to care for a child or children, and he or she grows up. The Helen in need of raising is played by Kate Hudson, still riding the applause for her "Almost Famous" performance despite not having given a good one since then. Helen is a top exec at a New York City modeling agency, so her life is equal parts work and partying, leaving no room for anything else.
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