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26 out of 29 people found the following review useful: A really sweet and innocent comedy about a girl who babysits but has to take a tour downtown., 16 January 2005 Author: simspace from Sweden
This is a really funny movie because you never really know where it's going. Basically everything that happens in it happens by accident. It's not only funny but also exciting if you aren't that old. I think it's great.It sort of reminds me about "Afterhours" (starring Griffin Dunne) but this is the family version of that movie. Anything can happen during a crazy night or so it seems. Elisabeth Shue is good in this movie and everyone in it seems to have had a good time making it. If you just want to see a cute movie which makes you feel good , or if you've had enough of over-dramatic epics , action that blows you out of your seat and bloody horror movies , check this out. It's sweet , funny , lovable and adventurous all at the same time. If you don't like it , there are more than enough of violence out there for you.
21 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Just a FUN movie!, 1 August 2002 Author: LebowskiT1000 from Escondido, California, USA
Why does this movie have such a low rating on this site? This is such a good movie! Ok, I'll admit, the story is pretty odd, but it's still very good, and it's a great adventure.All the actors do a great job in the film. Elizabeth Shue looks as beautiful as ever and does a great job as Chris Parker. Keith Coogan does a great job as well. Other notable cast members are Vincent D'Onofrio, Penelope Ann Miller, Geroge Newbern, Bradley Whitford, and Lolita Davidovich. Also, I have to hand it to director Chris Columbus, he did a superb job with this film. Amazingly enough, this was his first directorial effort too. Good job Chris! It's always good to see where directors come from, if you didn't know, he went on to do "Home Alone", "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York", "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Bicentennial Man", and "Harry Potter: The Sorcerer's Stone", just to name a few.There are so many good things about this film! This movie's got action, adventure, and comedy. The comedy in the film is absolutely fantastic! There are a few scenes that crack me up just thinking about them. ...And there are a great number of quotable lines that everyone that has seen this movie will remember.Anyhow, I strongly suggest you see this film! I really hope that you enjoy the film if you haven't seen it already. Thanks for reading,-Chris
18 out of 21 people found the following review useful: This is one awesome movie!, 8 September 2000 Author: jhaggardjr from Chicago, Illinois
"Adventures in Babysitting" is a movie that I'll never forget. One of the reasons why this film is so memorable is because of the Chicago locations. For the past 25 years or so there have been lots of good movies shot in and around Chicago (as well as the suburbs) such as "Risky Business", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", and "The Fugitive" just to name a few. But "Adventures in Babysitting" is probably my favorite movie to be made in Chicago. I saw this movie when it first came out in the summer of 1987 (a year after "Ferris Bueller" which "Adventures" bares somewhat of a resemblence to) and while I was watching the film it felt to me like I was part of the adventure. Today, this is still a very entertaining picture, and a lot of fun. Elisabeth Shue is terrific in her first leading role as Chris Parker, a 17-year-old high school senior who prepares for a big date with her boyfriend at the beginning of the film. But he cancels the date, and since she's now free for the night, she's asked to babysit for the Anderson kids. She agrees. Once she gets over there, she gets a frantic phone call from her best friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) who's run away from home and is now stranded at a bus station in downtown Chicago. Terrified after witnessing a shooting, Brenda asks Chris to pick her up because she blew all her money on the cab ride to the bus station. Hesitant, Chris has no choice but to take the two Anderson kids Sara (Maia Brewton) and Brad (Keith Coogan) with her to pick up poor Brenda. Also going along for the ride, Brad's horny best friend Daryl (Anthony Rapp). Once they get on the expressway, things start to go wrong. Very wrong. This is where "Adventures in Babysitting" turns into a fun movie. The foursome experience car troubles; run-ins with a friendly car thief, a mob group the thief works for (who spend most of the movie chasing the kids through the streets of Chicago), and two gangs on a train; a short trip to a hospital (when one of the kids is slightly injured by a member of one of those gangs); a brief stop at a frat party; a chase to the top of a high-rise building; and a show stopping classic scene in a blues bar. And much more happens as the hapless Brenda continues to wait and wait and wait for Chris to come get her. "Adventures in Babysitting" was directed by Chris Columbus in his directing debut after writing screenplays for a couple of Steven Spielberg produced movies ("Gremlins", "The Goonies", and "Young Sherlock Holmes"). Since this film, Columbus has gone on to direct some of the biggest box office hit comedies of all-time such as "Home Alone", "Home Alone 2", and "Mrs. Doubtfire". "Adventures in Babysitting" was nowhere near as big a hit as those films, but it did modestly well. I would have loved to see a sequel to this. It would have been interesting to see what kind of misadventures were next for Chris and company. Shue, Brewton, Coogan, and Rapp all seem to be having a blast on screen, and I would too if I were up their on the screen. Even though Miller doesn't seem to be having a good time, she's a scream as Brenda (she would later show off some real good acting in "Kindergarten Cop" and "Awakenings"). And Vincent D'Onofrio (of "Men in Black" and currently "The Cell") has one of his first film roles in a very small part as the owner of a auto repair shop (where the broken down car gets fixed). "Adventures in Babysitting" is a movie that's great fun from start to finish and never lets up. This comedy/adventure is awesome!**** (out of four)
19 out of 23 people found the following review useful: Brenda Brenda Brenda!, 14 May 2005 Author: the-jerk from Newark, DE
"Adventures in Babysitting" is an underrated gem featuring a very strong young cast. The movie opens with Chris Parker (played by Elizabeth Shue in a very early starring role) first finding out that her boyfriend can't make their big date that night. So she agrees to babysit Sara and Brad Anderson, played by Maia Brewton and Keith Coogan (both of whom have dropped off the face of the earth, apparently, in the last 10 or 15 years). Sara's kind of a brat, and Brad has a crush on Chris. Brad's best friend Daryl (played by Anthony Rapp, who went on to appear in "Dazed and Confused" and "Road Trip"), who is an annoying wise-ass, also drops by. Things go okay until Chris gets a call from her best friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller), who says that she ran away from home, and is now stuck at a bus station in the city with no money and no way home, and of course she can't call her parents. This prompts Chris to take the kids (including Daryl) on a little trip, and of course, hilarious hijinks ensue.They have a tire blow-out, and are helped by a mechanic with a hook for a hand. Their car is then stolen, and they go to try to get it back. They're caught by the mobsters running the car ring, and have to escape (which they achieve by walking along a very thin metal beam overhead). But the mobsters catch them trying to leave, forcing them on the run and leading to one of the funniest scenes in the movie: going through a blues club, the singer stops them, saying "Ain't nobody leaves here without singing the blues." So they do, Chris leading, singing a song about their predicament. It's both cute and hilarious, with the others joining in singing back-up ("And we should be in bed!").The rest of the movie is about them being chased through the city by these mobsters, and of course, there's one funny bit after another, with some suspenseful bits thrown in for good measure. This is all hilarious, but the best scenes are the ones interspersed throughout with Brenda trying to get along at the bus station. Penelope Ann Miller truly steals the show; scared out of her skull, she has to contend with such problems as a bum yelling at her to get out of his "house" (a phone booth); getting her glasses stolen by a bag lady (the look on the bag lady's face when she puts them on and realizes she can see is priceless); a hot dog vendor who won't help her out ("Then I don't have a wiener!" he says when she says she doesn't have any cash); and a jumbo-sized sewer rat she tries to rescue, thinking it's a cute little kitty cat (because she can't see). This is probably the best part Penelope Ann Miller has ever had, and she demonstrates a surprising talent for screwball comedy.Like I said, the rest of the young cast is great; Shue pretty much began her career here, and Coogan, Rapp, and Brewton (who was also very funny on the also underrated TV show "Parker Lewis Can't Lose", which I'm dying to see come out on DVD) put in funny, though clichéd, parts. "Adventures in Babysitting" is one of those movies that just sounded kind of dumb based on the title (like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), but if you haven't seen it, give it a try anyway; the brilliant gags and the strong acting made it work.
16 out of 21 people found the following review useful: One of those movies you grow out of, but don't stop liking, 28 November 2003 Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois
I grew up with this movie and always wanted to be like Chris. She was so beautiful and handled the toughest situations so well. She took the deadliest situations and got the kids out of them so safely. Well, now I babysit and I'm glad I never got in the same situation, but it still made for a great and fun movie.Chris is a senior who has a big date planned with her boyfriend, but when he cancels, she is forced to babysit the Anderson's daughter, Sara. They also have a son, Brad is a couple years younger and has a huge crush on Chris and decides to cancel on his friend, Darrel to stay home with Chris. But when Chris's best friend, Brenda, calls her from the Anderson's, she finds out her friend is stranded at a bus station and can't get anyone else to help her. So Chris takes Brad and Sara and is forced to take Darrel since he won't leave them alone, they all go into the city of Chicago and end up getting a flat and get into one deadly situation after the next, even getting chased by the Mafia! This is a fun flick that I still watch 'til this day and have so much fun with. I would always recommend this also for anyone, I truly hope it is discovered by new generations. I still enjoy singing along with the "Babysitting Blues", I think I finally feel Chris's pain, after all, I'm too old to babysit. :D 7/10
9 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Charming, 16 January 2005 Author: marlowe_is_dead from Antarctica
For an unknown (to me) reason, when I saw this on British TV, it was called "A Night On The Town", a far inferior title than 'Adventures in Babysitting', although maybe they figured that parents would think this a children's movie...Anyway, the movie itself is charming in that way that only 1980s US comedy films are. There is an air of innocence to the whole thing, before these more conscious and overtly cynical days that we know and hate now - maybe a reason why 1980s retro is all the rage now... that, and things are cyclical.I thought the film WAS charming, although entirely far-fetched in its plot lines, although I think that was kind of the point. The characters, while not being very complicated, were warm and at least not entirely two-dimensional, and the little girl was quite cute and not extremely annoying as could have happened.Overall, I'd recommend it to hounds who love to watch 80s films.
14 out of 22 people found the following review useful: This movie set new boundaries in movie-making., 28 June 2004 Author: bluesharp94 from US
I didn't want to go see this movie back in '87 with my kids, but I was dragged into it. The movie was awesome then, and it still remains a great movie. Why? The music. Anyone even remotely interested in "The Blues" as a music genre should have this DVD in their library. Not only do you get some great blues music as part of the scoring, the incidental Blues Club Scene, vintage Chicago, pulls this out of the ordinary to a slam for music lovers.And, ... how about the straggling scene after the credits, which is standard today. Heck, I'm in my 50s, and I still have to pull this movie out to hear the harp licks.
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Adventures in Babysitting - Sweet, but Fun and Good, 15 November 2004 Author: Ubenavides21 from Austin, Texas
Uriel's Movie Reviews - Adventures in Babysitting***1/2 (1hr 39min)(Rated PG-13)The 1987 flick from future Harry Potter and Mrs. Doubtfire director Chris Columbus, Adventures in Babysitting is a good film and it has some fun moments in it.Its about a high school senior named Chris Parker(Elisabeth Shue) in a rich suburb of Chicago, where she has just been agrees to babysit for a pre-teen girl named Sara (Maia Brewton) and his older brother Brad(Keith Coogan), with his friend Daryl(Anthony Rapp).The children's parents leave for a party and the babysitter relaxes thinking this will be another boring night, however, she receives a call from her friend who just ran away from home and is at the train station in Chicago. She is scared and wants her to come and pick her up. The babysitter cannot leave the children alone and so she takes them and one of the teenagers' friend on a wild and crazy adventure.In her pursuit to pick up her friend, they have to deal with being in a love quarrel where pistol is being fired, and then, being in a stolen car that results in gangster-like characters chasing them because they posses information about their operation.The reason why this movie is so good is that the characters are rich and come from a secluded suburban area who never had to deal with the hard life of the inner-city, and One interesting moment in the movie is when they were in a blues club and they were told they could not leave without singing the blues.This is really good, and also fun movie to enjoy.
7 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Babysitting Was Never This Much Fun For Me, 2 December 2002 Author: Big Movie Fan from England
When I first saw this movie in the late 1980's I thought to myself how whenever I had babysat I had had a pretty boring night stuck in front of a TV hoping the kids wouldn't wake up crying and spoil the peace. How I wish they had been more like this movie.Elizabeth Shue plays Chris Parker who is babysitting one night but due to certain circumstances ends up taking the kids out on the town in order to pick up one of her friends. What follows is all sorts of adventures involving thugs, crooks, thieves, the lot. The film is totally funny to watch and has some really good scenes in. Two that come to mind involve a fight between two gangs on a train and one involving the god of Thunder Thor (well, not the Thor you would be expecting).This is an exciting movie which was typical of 1980's movies. Boy, I wish they could make movies like that now. The 80's has got to be the best decade ever for films of all genres and this movie is just one of many great comedy films of that era. Oh and by the way, I think Elizabeth Shue is beautiful and I believe this was her best role.
10 out of 15 people found the following review useful: On my top 10 list of best movies ever!, 7 June 2005 Author: Jill from United States
I love this movie! If it is on TV or I see it when renting movies, I will stop everything at watch this movie. I love the whole idea of the movie! I babysit all the time and the premise is honestly, something that probably could (and I'm sure has) happen to some unlucky babysitter. I was only 3 when this movie was made but it doesn't matter! Anthony Rapp's character, Daryl Coopersmith is hilarious! The cast and characters work so well together. The only thing that I find annoying is Sara, the little sister, but then again I am a babysitter and what babysitter wouldn't get annoyed with little kids when they make trouble. But if it weren't for Sara then there wouldn't be this movie!
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