Nanny McPhee

If you are after a comedy that actually makes you laugh out loud, Nanny McPhee is available in Australia on BINGE and Foxtel Now, and in the UK on Netflix right now. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Emma Thompson leads a cast with real comic timing. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on BINGE.

There is a reason Nanny McPhee keeps coming up in conversation. The jokes in Nanny McPhee land because the characters underneath them are worth caring about. Widower Cedric Brown hires Nanny McPhee to care for his seven rambunctious children, who have chased away all previous nannies. Taunted by Simon and his siblings, Nanny McPhee uses mystical powers to instill discipline. And when the children's great-aunt and benefactor, Lady Adelaide Stitch, threatens to separate the kids, the family pulls together under the guidance of Nanny McPhee. Emma Thompson and Colin Firth lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2005. What keeps Nanny McPhee from feeling disposable is a cast that clearly understands the material better than the format usually demands. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Nanny McPhee is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Emma Thompson's comic timing carries it through its weaker moments. The kind of comedy you recommend to someone who claims they do not watch much.