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The director and script writers (Patrick Clifton, Beth Rigazio, Jack Amiel, and Michael Begler) have done ministers everywhere a favor by daring to portray a pastor as a potential object of female desire, and not the butt of jokes.

"I'm a sexy man of God, and I know it," announces Pastor Dan at one cute point, and the moment is instantly ripe for a passionate kiss. It's only too bad that the script is so intent on making the man of God so with-it that whatever it is that drove him to become a pastor in the first place gets crowded out by his played-up hunkiness and hipness. He even watches—or just jokes about watching—dirty movies, and then tries to use this asset in trying to get Helen to go out with him. True, he is there for her in times of trouble, as is the pastoral thing to do. But the man's soul is nowhere to be found. We never really glimpse the Spirit—any spirit, really—inside this minister. Nor do we learn if there's anything besides Helen's looks that attracts him to the woman who is not a churchgoer.

But when the two evoke laughs, you forgive such character-development omissions. When Helen lies to Pastor Dan that she and the children are Lutherans, thinking that it's a requirement for the students at the Lutheran school, he deadpans. "We'll have to take a blood test to make sure." "All three of them are hemophiliacs," she's quick to fib.

In this scene, and in others, she'll do anything for the kids. When a woman's right to choose is guided by her concern for the well being of a child—however inconvenient the consequences—it yields freedom and peace of conscience. This is Helen's lib. A call for altruism conveyed not in a truism, but in a heartwarming comedy—now, that's Hollywood at its stealthiest.

1. Helen gave up her career ambitions in order to become a guardian of three children. What biblical examples of people giving up their dreams or making sacrifices for the sake of others inspire you? Why? (Examples: Mary, Jacob, Hosea.)
   
   
2. Has a needy person—a child, an ill or bedridden person, or an elderly relative—ever depended on you? What sacrifices did you make in order to be there for them?
   
   
3. How does it feel to deny your own wants or dreams in order to put others first? Does such altruism always come with rewards?
   
   
4. What's the popular culture's message to young women and men just starting promising careers? Do they tend to see the unexpected appearance of children in their lives—via pregnancy, custody, or some other way—as a blessing or an inconvenience?
   
   
5. How would you react if someone gave you custody of their children?

This fairly clean movie has just a few lines that are below par. At one point, we see teenagers smoking at a party. In another scene, it's implied that two of them are about to have sex; they are broken up by the supermom, though. The parents' death in a car crash is not shown.

Photos © Copyright Touchstone Pictures

In Raising Helen, a career girl played by Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) suddenly finds herself responsible for her sister's three children. The responsibilities and challenges cause a serious disturbance in her professional life, but they also open a romantic opportunity with a Lutheran minister (John Corbett of My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

Religious press critics are divided as to whether the film treats religion in an admirable manner. They're also split over whether the movie is any good.

Agnieszka Tennant (Christianity Today Movies) writes, "Although predictable in places, the romantic dramedy represents Hollywood's refreshingly realistic correction of the 20th century feminism: It is possible for unexpected, ill-timed motherhood, with all its emotional and financial hassles, to gratify a woman in a way unsurpassed even by a successful career in the fashion industry, a Manhattan zip code, and lenient sex life."

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Related Elsewhere:

Garry Marshall	Printer view
The man who brought us TV's Happy Days and films like Pretty Woman now delivers another romantic comedy, Raising Helen, starring Kate Hudson—whose mom, Goldie Hawn, starred in another Marshall film, Overboard, 17 years ago.

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John Corbett	Printer view
Best known for his roles in Northern Exposure, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and HBO's Sex and the City, John Corbett now plays a Lutheran pastor—and Kate Hudson's love interest—in his latest film.

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Kate Hudson	Printer view
The daughter of Goldie Hawn—and stepdaughter of Kurt Russell—got a taste of motherhood while filming Raising Helen. After filming ended, Hudson learned that she was pregnant with her first child.