The Babysitters (2007)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

David Ross

Writer (WGA):

David Ross (written by)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

These girls mean business.

Plot:

A teenager turns her babysitting service into a call-girl service for married guys after fooling around with one of her customers.

Plot Keywords:

Call Girl | Babysitter | Flashback | High School Junior | Mountain Cabin

Cast

John Leguizamo	...	Michael Beltran
Katherine Waterston	...	Shirley Lyner
Cynthia Nixon	...	Gail Beltran
Andy Comeau	...	Jerry Tuchman
Denis O'Hare	...	Stan Lyner
Lauren Birkell	...	Melissa Brown
Alexandra Daddario	...	Barbara Yates
Louisa Krause	...	Brenda Woodberg
Halley Wegryn Gross	...	Nadine Woodberg
Ann Dowd	...	Tammy Lyner
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Scott Miral
Jason Dubin	...	George
Ethan Phillips	...	Mark Wessler (as Ethan 'Johnnie' Phillips)
Paul Borghese	...	Cook
Chira Cassel	...	Health Teacher

MPAA:

Rated R for disturbing strong sexual content, language and some drug use - involving teens.

Runtime:

88 min | Canada:90 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:18A | USA:R | Australia:MA (2008) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R18

Filming Locations:

Clinton Diner, Maspeth, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Forensic Films

Trivia:

Howard Stern was offered the chance to be a producer on the film but he turned it down.

Quotes:

Brenda Woodberg: I can't... this isn't me... I can't do this anymore. I go out for you and I do these things with strangers, and then I get home and I gotta wash this stuff out of my hair before my parents... I can't do it anymore!

So much more than I expected

Stuck at home and recovering from a viral throat infection, I was looking for a couple of nice little cheesy movies that didn't take much brain power. What I found instead, was one utter piece of dross (Black Ribbon, don't bother watching it), and this absolute gem.

Not at all the Debbie-does-Dallas style piece of cheese that I was expecting from the description I had read, I found this film really rather touching and thought provoking. The acting was excellent, especially considering the apparent young age of some of the cast. Katherine Waterston shone as Shirley, and managed to convey all of the awkwardness of her slightly neurotic teenage character, whilst still being completely convincing in later scenes where her inner core of steel shows through. The range of different personalities amongst the girls as a group was excellent, and each character was thoroughly fleshed out. If there was a weak link here, I would say that perhaps there was not quite enough focus on the reactions of the teenage boys to what is going on around them - Scott's reaction to Shirley later in the film appears to come from nowhere. Perhaps a deleted scene?

The sex, whilst somewhat explicit, was never gratuitous, and there were a couple of uncomfortable scenes that had me on the edge of my seat. Whilst I certainly never got involved in anything like this as a teenager, I found I was reminded very strongly of the amoral thing I once was, and rather grateful, in fact, that I was never given the choice that these girls are offered in the film. The lack of any real analysis of their actions only serves to make these teens more convincing in my view - what teenager really considers the consequences of their actions before taking them?

My recommendation: Get hold of a copy of this film, grab yourself some popcorn, and watch it through, and be prepared for some introspection afterwards.