Feel-good 'Raising Helen' a surprise hit

After her sister and brother-in-law die in a car accident, swingin' single Helen Harris, played by the uber-cute Kate Hudson, takes custody of their three children. A sometimes funny, sometimes sad and always heart-warming journey of love and self-discovery ensues. \nSounds kind of cliché, and indeed it is. "Raising Helen," directed by veteran chick-flick director Garry Marshall (who cranked out about half of the "girls night" movie library, including: "Pretty Woman," "Runaway Bride" and "Beaches"), is very predictable. There's really no question of whether everything will work out in the end. \nHelen lives the ultimate fun single life: a secretary at a fashion-modeling agency with the promise of a promotion to agent by day, a hot single woman out on the town by night. After her nieces and nephew are left in her not-so-capable hands, she is forced to change her life completely. She moves to an apartment in Queens, loses her job and becomes a receptionist at a used car lot, having to deal with raising three children who have just lost their parents. \nDuring the course of this complete life shift, however, Helen has to deal with other issues. For one, her other sister, Jenny (played by the talented Joan Cusack), is upset that Helen was left with the children. Jenny is the poster mom: she's raised a couple of well-adjusted kids, she drives a minivan, she cooks and even knits for heaven's sake! Helen and Jenny spend most of the film shrieking at each other, crying with each other or not speaking to each other.\nAnd then, true to Marshall's style, there must be a romantic interest. This one takes the form of Pastor Dan Parker, the hot, single principal of the childrens' Lutheran school. The gorgeous John Corbett plays Pastor Dan wonderfully -- he is definitely the best actor in the movie. \n"Raising Helen," though predictable, is cute, fun and heartwarming. It ultimately teaches the oft-repeated lesson of the importance of love and family, but it entertains along the way with witty jokes and cute gags. It may or may not be worth a night admission price to the movies, but few films will be better for a rainy afternoon.