The Sexy Clergyman and the Smart Shopper

For some people, that idea of a clergyman as the lead in a romantic comedy is catnip and cream. Those are the people who will think "Raising Helen," starring Kate Hudson and John Corbett (as the belligerently sexy clergyman), is an image upgrade for Christians everywhere.

In a polarized world where Christians assume Hollywood hates them, where "The Passion of the Christ" provokes a red state-blue state split and is advertised on a NASCAR hood, any screen clergyman who is not depicted as a fiend or idiot will find a grateful audience. For such viewers there's much to like in "Raising Helen": it doesn't have bad language, it does affirm strong parenting, it's got adorable kids, colorful ethnic neighbors, and a turtle. What more do you want?

How about coherence? Though director Garry Marshall commented in an interview, "Editing is everything, I spend all my life in editing," "Raising Helen" feels like it got dropped on the floor and glued back together. Take an early scene, when Helen Harris (Kate Hudson) rushes in late to a birthday party for her older sister Lindsay (Felicity Huffman), at the home of middle sister Jenny (Joan Cusack, who improves every film she's in. She could do this by standing in the back of a theater. If she stood in a restaurant, the food would taste better. Why is there no federal program to clone Joan Cusack?) Here's what I mean by incoherence. Jenny is in the middle of singing "Happy Birthday" to Lindsay when Helen comes in the door. Lindsay jumps up and runs to embrace Helen, leaving Jenny holding the flaming cake. It's clear that Helen is the favorite and Jenny is the outsider, a suburban mom who's not cool enough, not fun enough. The painful snub looks prelude to a theme, so it's a surprise, a few scenes later, to see Jenny give Helen a weirdly obsessive command. Was our sympathy misplaced? Later still Helen calls Jenny a "smug, bitter, colossal bitch," a line we're apparently expected to cheer. With all these mixed signals, just how are we supposed to view Jenny?

And then there's Pastor Dan. John Corbett, previously known as the groom in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," here portrays the pastor of the Lutheran church where Helen enrolls the kids for school. But his pastoral status has no bearing on the plot; while there's a parade of church-themed jokes, faith plays no part in the story. We see him function as director of the school, but never in worship or spiritual leadership. He could as well have been a lawyer or social worker, except for the clerical collar.

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