View source for Raising Helen

{{Short description|2004 film by Garry Marshall}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Raising Helen
| image          = Raising helen.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Garry Marshall]]
| producer       = [[Ashok Amritraj]]<br />[[David Hoberman]]
| screenplay     = [[Jack Amiel]]<br />[[Michael Begler]]
| story          = Patrick J. Clifton<br />Beth Rigazio
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Kate Hudson]]
* [[John Corbett]]
* [[Joan Cusack]]
* [[Hayden Panettiere]]
* [[Spencer Breslin]]
* [[Helen Mirren]]
}}
| music          = [[John Debney]]
| cinematography = [[Charles Minsky]]
| editing        = [[Bruce Green]]
| studio         = [[Touchstone Pictures]]<br />[[Beacon Pictures]]<br />[[Hyde Park Entertainment]]<br />[[Mandeville Films]]
| distributor    = [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]]
| released       = {{Film date|2004|05|28}}
| runtime        = 119 minutes
| language       = English
| budget         = $50 million<ref name="numbers" />
| gross          = $49.7 million<ref name="mojo" />
}}
'''''Raising Helen''''' is a 2004 American [[comedy-drama film]] directed by [[Garry Marshall]] and written by [[Jack Amiel]] and [[Michael Begler]]. It stars [[Kate Hudson]], [[John Corbett]], [[Joan Cusack]], [[Hayden Panettiere]], siblings [[Spencer Breslin|Spencer]] and [[Abigail Breslin]], and [[Helen Mirren]]. It grossed 	$49.7 million worldwide. 

==Plot==
Helen, Jenny, and Lindsay Harris are close sisters living in New York; the eldest Jenny raised the other two after their mother died when they were young. Jenny and Lindsay are responsible stay-at-home mothers while Helen, an executive assistant to the CEO of one of Manhattan's most prestigious modeling agencies, enjoys a lavish, carefree lifestyle.

One morning, Helen receives a call from Jenny who tells her Lindsay and her husband Paul have died in a car accident, leaving behind their three children, 15-year-old Audrey, 10-year-old Henry, and 5-year-old Sarah. At an appointment with Lindsay's attorney, Helen and Jenny are shocked to discover Lindsay has appointed Helen the guardian of the children. Both sisters are given a letter that Lindsay had left for them.

Forced to give up her wild lifestyle and move to Queens, Helen initially struggles to raise the children on her own. As time goes by, her concentration at work begins to slip and she is fired as a result, leading her to become a receptionist at a car dealership. Helen and Jenny get into a fight about how best to raise the children and they stop talking. Things later start to improve for Helen after she begins dating Dan Parker, the children's school principal and pastor, who helps her bond with them.

Audrey starts to fall in with the wrong crowd at school and gets an older boyfriend called BZ. When she disappears after prom, Helen is forced to call Jenny for backup, too scared to take control of the situation on her own in fear that Audrey will hate her if confronted. Audrey is found at a motel with BZ, and Helen later turns the children over to Jenny's custody, much to their dismay.

Helen goes back to work and slowly returns to her previous way of living, but soon realizes she is not happy. She goes to Jenny's to take the children back, adamant she is ready to put her foot down and be a mother, but Jenny asks her to leave and think about it some more. Later that night, as Helen sits alone in the nearby park, Jenny appears and allows Helen to read her letter from Lindsay; in it, Lindsay explains she chose Helen to care for her children because their personalities are so similar and she wanted the children to have a mother figure who reminds them of her.

Finally having accepted Helen can cope, Jenny returns the children to her the following morning, and they happily begin to settle into their new family life.

==Cast==
{{cast listing|
* [[Kate Hudson]] as Helen Harris
* [[John Corbett]] as Pastor Dan Parker, Helen's love interest
* [[Joan Cusack]] as Jenny Portman, Helen & Lindsay's older sister
* [[Hayden Panettiere]] as Audrey Davis, Helen's niece
* [[Spencer Breslin]] as Henry Davis, Helen's nephew
* [[Abigail Breslin]] as Sarah Davis, Helen's niece
* [[Helen Mirren]] as Dominique
* [[Felicity Huffman]] as Lindsay Davis, Helen's older sister, Jenny's younger sister and Audrey, Henry & Sarah's late mother
* [[Kevin Kilner]] as Ed Portman, Jenny's husband
* [[Sakina Jaffrey]] as Nilma Prasad
* [[Joseph Mazzello]] as Prom Date Peter
* [[Sean O'Bryan]] as Paul Davis, Lindsay's husband and Audrey, Henry & Sarah's late father
* Catherine Tayrien as Jasmine Portman, Jenny & Ed's daughter
* Eve Sabara{{refn|group=nb|name=Transition|Originally credited as Evan Sabara; Eve came out as a [[trans woman]] in 2020.<ref>{{cite instagram |title=Happy 4 years to meee #transgender #hrt |user=evesolaris_ |postid=C9gfv1EJXdv |date=July 16, 2024}}</ref>}} as Oliver Portman, Jenny & Ed's son
* [[Paris Hilton]] as Amber
* [[Amber Valletta]] as Martina
* Ethan Browne as Devon
* [[Shannon Wilcox]] as Photographer
* [[Frank Campanella]] as Mourner
* Michael Esparza as BZ
* [[Katie Carr]] as Caitlin
* [[Rio Hackford]] as Brunch Maitre d'
* [[Héctor Elizondo]] as Mickey Massey
* [[Larry Miller (comedian)|Larry Miller]] as Leo D'Leo
* [[Shakara Ledard]] as 'Tinka' (the model)
}}

==Music==
The 1980 [[Devo]] song "[[Whip It (Devo song)|Whip It]]" was featured in the film.<ref>{{cite web |date=2004-05-25 |author1=Heather Phares |title=Raising Helen - Original Soundtrack {{!}} Album |website=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/raising-helen-mw0000738070 }}</ref>

==Release==
The film was shown at the 2004 [[Tribeca Film Festival]]. It was released theatrically in the United States on May 28, 2004. In US theaters, the film was preceded by an animated short film from [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Feature Animation]] titled ''[[Lorenzo (film)|Lorenzo]]'', about a cat who gets his tail jinxed and comes to life.<ref>{{cite web |last=Desowitz |first=Bill |url=https://www.awn.com/news/disney-attaches-lorenzo-raising-helen |title=Disney Attaches Lorenzo to Raising Helen |website=[[Animation World Network]] |date=April 29, 2004 |access-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310213224/https://www.awn.com/news/disney-attaches-lorenzo-raising-helen |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Box office===
The film opened at number four on opening weekend, making $10.9 million. In North America, the film earned $37.5 million. In other territories, it made $12.2 million. The film grossed a total of 	$49.7 million worldwide against a production budget of $50 million, making the film a [[box-office bomb]].<ref name="mojo">{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=raisinghelen.htm |title=Raising Helen (2004) |work=Box Office Mojo |archive-date=2017-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807192437/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=raisinghelen.htm |url-status=live |access-date=2025-07-18 }}</ref><ref name="numbers">{{cite web |url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2004/HELEN.php |title=Raising Helen (2004) - Financial Information |archive-date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826015244/http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2004/HELEN.php |url-status=live |access-date=2025-07-19 }}</ref>

===Reception===
''Raising Helen'' received mostly negative reviews from critics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Raising Helen |url=https://ew.com/article/2004/05/26/raising-helen-2/ |website=EW.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=11 May 2004 |last1=Leydon |first1=Joe |title=Raising Helen |url=https://variety.com/2004/film/markets-festivals/raising-helen-1200533551/ |website=Variety }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=28 May 2004 |title='Raising Helen' thrusts jet-setter into parenthood |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-may-28-et-helen28-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] }}</ref> On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 25% based on 133 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "As shallow and formulaic as a sitcom."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/raising_helen |title=Raising Helen |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308174403/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/raising_helen |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which uses a [[Weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]], gave the film a score of 38 out of 100, based on reviews from 34 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/raising-helen |title=Raising Helen Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207001633/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/raising-helen |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/ |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=CinemaScore |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Empty search box is not a good reference|date=August 2025 }}

===Home media===
The film was released on [[DVD]] and [[VHS]] on October 12, 2004.<ref>{{cite web |title=DVD Releases for October 12, 2004 |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/news/196440830-DVD-Releases-for-October-12-2004 |website=The Numbers }}</ref> The film was not released on [[Blu-ray]].

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* [http://www.the-numbers.com/charts/weekly/2004/20040528.php The Top Movies, Weekend of May 28, 2004] at The Numbers.

{{Garry Marshall}}

[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:2004 romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Beacon Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Films about families]]
[[Category:Films about fashion in the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by Garry Marshall]]
[[Category:Films produced by David Hoberman]]
[[Category:Films scored by John Debney]]
[[Category:Films set in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Films set in Queens, New York]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films shot in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York City]]
[[Category:Hyde Park Entertainment films]]
[[Category:Mandeville Films films]]
[[Category:Touchstone Pictures films]]