Harriet the spy

11 year old sixth grader Harriet M. Welsch (Michelle Trachtenberg) has an alter ego, she is a spy and aspiring writer who records all the goings on during her designated spy routes as well as her observations about her classmates: best friends Sport (Gregory Smith) and Janie (Vanessa Lee Chester), linked by a concealed tattoo and mutual dislike of class brat Marion Hawthorn. Isolated from her argumentative and absent parents, creative and observant Harriet finds solace in her writing and love with her nanny Ole Golly (Rosie O’Donnell). Harriet’s world is turned upside down when Golly leaves her family’s employment and her notebook is found and read, her private feelings about her friends exposed. Banned from writing, Harriet embarks on a revenge campaign against those who have bullied her since finding out what she really thinks of them, but revenge does not assuage her pain and she has to consider another way to gain forgiveness. At times an agonising coming of age film, the film does have a happy ending with a place for individuality and friendships are restored. Includes a cameo by Eartha Kitt as one of Harriet’s snooping accomplishments. Based on the successful novel by Louise Fitzhugh.