101 minutes

In theaters July 2, 2008

Rating: G, Comedy-drama

Sometimes product placement comes before the movie rather than during it. This one, for instance, is perhaps the first ever based on a doll, of all things, but manages to result in more than just a glorified commercial.

The underserved audience of young girls gets thrown a summer bone as the low-keyed and leisurely Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, inspired by the line of American Girl dolls, turns up in the loud and lively summer of 2008 without any special effects, explosions, or superpowers.