The Greatest Store in the World (1999)

I wasn’t sure about this one.  The description on IMDb made it sound like “Britain Does Home Alone at Christmas” – full of broad acting and kiddish humor.  However, I wound up pleasantly surprised.

 

In The Greatest Store in the World, a young girl named Livvie finds herself, her mother, and her little sister homeless for the holidays.  With the housing office backed up trying to place people, Livvie’s mother gets the idea of spending the night in an upscale department store.  Mischief and hijinks naturally ensue as Livvie and her family struggle to avoid detection.
 

PC plays the store’s doorman, whom Livvie has nicknamed Mr. Whiskers due to his Facial Hair o’ Evil.  As the man who monitors all the comings and goings at the store, he notices a certain three shoppers going in but not coming out.  Which of course makes the whole “avoid detection” thing that much harder.

 

I was expecting a kiddie-movie comedy villain, complete with pulled faces and whacky pratfalls – he’s even got a mustache to twirl!  But The Greatest Store in the World, thankfully, isn’t that kind of movie.  To a child, he’s the Big Bad looking to catch those who bend the rules, but Mr. Whiskers proves to be a man just trying to do his job, one who isn’t as inflexible as he seems at first glance.  A person, and a pretty relatable one, rather than a Character.

 

It’s not bad at all.  I’m not saying it’s free of kids’ movie clichés, but it’s enjoyable and smart; I like resourceful young characters who can think on their feet.  And for a Christmas movie, it’s kind of surprisingly cynical.  But then, this is Great Britain, where small children enjoy Doctor Who Christmas specials about mass casualties aboard the space-Titanic.  And let’s not forget how Downton Abbey celebrates the holidays.

 

Accent Watch

 

Another Scottish fella.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Possibly.  It really is a nice little film.  Maybe around the holidays, when you’re in the mood for something Christmasy and have already watched Charlie Brown and the Grinch.

 

PC-wise – Maybe.  The role’s not exactly challenging, but he turns out to be a pretty likable character with a decent amount of screentime and good interactions with the leads.  

 

Warnings

 

A bit of scariness for little ones, maybe, but nothing serious.  This one’s clean.