"So you say they're called legs? How delightful!"

Screwball comedies, a film genre more common in the 1930s than today, were largely known for depicting wacky hijinks among the upper classes with an abundance of verbal wit and charming chaos. The genre lives again, at least for a day, with Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, a charming bit of froth that should brighten up your late winter movie-going doldrums.

Frances McDormand stars as Guinevere Pettigrew, a sub-par governess in 1930’s London, who’s just been fired from the latest in a long line of assignments. When her agency refuses to place her again, Guinevere steals a job listing for what she thinks is another child-care position. Turns out it’s actually for a job as social secretary to Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a flighty American singer who, at the moment, needs to send one lover packing before another returns home. Against even her own expectations, the frumpy and scandalized Guinevere manages to keep the gents from meeting and Delysia hires her on the spot. Keeping up with Delysia’s tangled love life – which includes a third suitor -- and career ambitions proves to be a full day’s work for Guinevere, who also finds time to fit in a makeover and possibly find true love of her own.

"You're right, the audience does look a little shiny."

Director Bharat Nalluri tries hard to evoke the manic energy and spirit of those classic old movies, and quite often he succeeds. It’s all very sweet, slightly saucy and as light as meringue. The cast plays along gamely, particularly the sweetly effervescent Adams and Lee Pace, playing the penniless piano player who, alone among her lovers, truly cares for her. McDormand exudes a battered dignity and a kind of befuddled wisdom as a woman coping brilliantly even when she’s truly out of her element.

It can be tempting in a movie such as this to overplay the comedy, ratcheting the zaniness up to the point where it becomes a farce, but Nalluri never makes that mistake. Instead, the movie veers slightly towards the serious, with the first air raid of World War II. Sounds heavy, right, like it could crush the life out of this lightweight comedy? Oddly, it doesn’t. Rather it grounds the movie just enough to justify the obligatory happy ending, in which all our favorite characters realize what’s truly important to them. Not a bad day’s work, Miss Pettigrew.

Gorilla Pants rating: 3 out of 4 bananas