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13 comments in total

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33 out of 45 people found the following comment useful :-
Taking control isn't that easy, 11 May 2008

Author: aharmas from United States

Whoever said that brains and beauty is not an explosive combination? An enterprising young woman sees a way to take control of her life and becomes a mastermind behind a society of young women whose lives are slowly shattered when they decide to use their charms to make some money.

The film starts out slowly and then hits a few highs along the way, giving us a share of strong, controversial and provocative moments. As we see the story unfold, we are not quite sure when the dangerous and tragic moments are coming. They are expected, but they are not quite as obvious as one expects. Little by little, we see the girls lose control of their enterprise, as each person's agenda begins to threatens the good of the group. Personalities begin clashing as the quiet and demure realizes she doesn't have enough strength to continue. In the opposite end, her sister is taking more and more dangerous assignments, and all of this emotional turmoil begins to prove too much for the head of the club.

In the end, things work out but not that smoothly, and not without a couple of gigantic crises along the way. It is shocking at times, and there are a couple of lulls along the way that almost derail the film, but it is a movie that shows a side of teens that has probably never been shown before. It will make you think.

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15 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Great little indy film, 5 August 2008

Author: uncre8tv from United States

This is what I look for in independent film. Well drawn characters, competent movie making, and a pleasing ambiguity that a big studio wouldn't dare leave in, lest the audience actually decide how to feel for themselves. The guys are great - desperate, sleazy, charming, funny and sad. The girls are also portrayed fairly - scheming, sweet, sexy and innocent. Leguizamo's character is believable to me as an aging playa, chafing against middle age and lusting for Waterson's Shirley. And Shirley is the best on-screen pimp in recent memory. To be fair: things unfold a little quickly, people accept their situations a little easier than they might in real life, but this is a pretty short movie, and throwing in more angst would be overkill and overlong on screen. No one comes away clean, and no one comes away as the absolute bad guy. Moral absolutes would kill this film, and I'm glad it got made the way it did.

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16 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
The Babysitters is original, 9 August 2008

Author: tomasdiaz from United States

The Babysitters is a completely original film. What a great plot. It doesn't hurt that John Leguizamo is in this one. He's an actor that can carry a film. I though the story was hip with a dark undercurrent. A teenager turns madam after her babysitting service gets sexy. The sex was secondary to the plot. At the core it was a drama about the human condition of getting older. At one time you're in high school then you find yourself married with children looking back and wanting back those youthful days of freedom. I highly recommend The Babysitters to add to your DVD collection. Writer and Director David Ross delivers an outstanding film. One of the best I've watched recently.

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12 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
So much more than I expected, 31 August 2008

Author: Maxine Green from United Kingdom

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.

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22 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :-
Worth a rainy afternoon..., 15 September 2007
Author: Quentin-12 from Ontario

Just saw this film at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). The director was there and participated in the Q&A. The film was entertaining, I'll give it that much, however the major problems stem from it just doesn't feel like the film-making team really knew what kind of film they wanted to make. The tone is muddled and therefore you're never really sure how to feel about most of the situations. The sex scenes are probably the most interesting of the film, and mostly because that's really the only time where we really see the characters and what they're going through. Cynthia Nixon and John Leguzamo play a married couple, and although they're both cast well and play the parts well I find it very hard to believe them as a couple at all. I think that the writing and portrayal of their characters is fine, it just doesn't fit. The director/writer seems to prefer going after internal conflict rather than external, the main problem is that in the end we never really get a sense of how this whole story has affected everyone. We're left on a very vague not that I think hurts the film more than helps it. That and it kinda/sorta felt like a newer take on 'Pizza Boy' with Patrick Dempsy (and from a marketing point MILFS are way more interesting than... oh my... FILFs?)

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
A lot more than I expected!, 15 April 2009

Author: bill-987 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I enjoy films which present the viewer with multiple threads to consider and this is certainly one of those.

1. All Men Are Pigs – Every male character in the film is portrayed in the least flattering light possible. John Leguizamo's character, arguably the most understandable, if not likable, is an indifferent father who floats along in his marriage and his affair choosing paths of least resistance every time. Even Brenda's teen brother Scott, who starts out as a shy and endearing character quickly becomes a judgmental little creep.

2. To Cheat or Not To Cheat – Michael and Gail Beltran do a poor job in addressing the problems in their marriage. Michael seems to be the partner who makes the attempt to confront their issues but it's a halfhearted attempt at best and is easily swept aside by Gail running off to an unscheduled NA meeting. No wonder when Michael strays!

3.Women Are Greedy and Backstabbing – Nadine certainly is but she's the primary one with this foible and she already seemed to present as a pampered spoiled bitch anyway! Hardly deserving of elevation to a central theme in the film!

4. If they're Old Enough To Die For their Country – How old is old enough? To me, this is the central theme of the film. Justice vs. the Rule of Law. Our society has established an often arbitrary and almost always capricious series of numerical boundaries to substitute for common sense and fairness under our law-based system. Its okay to enlist and die for one's country at 17 but you can't have a legal drink at 20. Practically every county had its own BAC limit until the federal statute was forced down everyone's throats mandating the .080 limit. It's illegal to photograph the bare buttocks of a 17-year-old but a flesh colored thong is okay on a 10-year-old. We've executed teens at 16, 17, and 18, but whether you were eligible for the death penalty depended on where you committed your crime. You can hire an 18-year-old to shoot a porn movie in your garage but pick up a 17-year-old in a bar drinking on an illegal ID and you go to prison. While I disagree with Shirley about the similarities between paid fellatio and burger flipping, I find I am loathe to condemn her efforts at earning extra college money if I am forced to use as my only basis for condemnation the potential legal consequences for her clients.

5. Don't Do Drugs - Hmmm… Maybe this is an anti-drug movie since they're portrayed as being at the root of the Beltran's marital problems as well as a primary precipitant in Brenda's breakdown and the decline and fall of the babysitters company.

Definitely worth a nod, I give it a solid '8'… almost a '9'! I do know that I'm already looking forward to Ms. Waterston's next effort.

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5 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A rather good idea with great start, but a bit of a simple ending, 6 September 2008

Author: siderite from Romania

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I marked it high because of the original script idea and the great acting, but I have to say that the ending could have been better.

It is an audacious concept: babysitting teenagers are acting as high pay prostitutes for the fathers that drive them home. I felt that the high school teens were much too eager to have sex with strangers and that the wives were terrible if they didn't smell anything suspicious. In the end it all comes down, as it would be expected, but it unravels the complex feelings underneath in the process. The girls are all beautiful, Katherine Waterson plays great; John Leguizamo again brings great quality to a movie; the direction is really good. While the film has a great story to tell, I felt that the script was a bit naive.

Bottom line: it is a tensioned, raw even, autopsy of the real suburb feelings: the taken for granted wives, the ignored teenagers and the powerful urges of the overworked middle aged men, overlooked by their spouses.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
The Babysitters, surprisingly enjoyable movie for adults of all ages, 18 May 2009

Author: wacoastguy from United States

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this movie. It was much more than the typical coming of age movie, whereas it forces the viewer to take a hard look at what married couples become once they are settled into their respective lives and relationships. This movie also delves into what each of us saw as our future and how we looked upon our peers in our high school years. Comprising both our dark and bright sides, The Babysitters in and of itself exposes multiple facets of human nature subtly and starkly. I really liked the characters in this movie and thought that John Leguizamo gave a standout performance. Although a terrific performance was delivered by Katherine Waterston, I had a hard time believing she was 17. Overall, this flick is well worth checking out, and not just for the high school and twenty something crowd. I would highly recommend this movie to the 30, 40 and 50 something crowd.

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
i love the movie., 8 September 2008

Author: Reese from Philippines

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I saw a DVD of this movie last night, but I didn't buy it. I looked it up on the net when I got home and when I read the story's summary; I couldn't get it out of my head. I had to watch it, one way or another.

Fortunately, I found a way to watch it, and what I saw was more than what I expected. This is the exactly the type of movie that I like. I immediately added it to my favorite list.

It's a bittersweet movie that left me with a heavy aftertaste. Despite it's flaws, I think it's perfect. Everything fits together and though everything doesn't end well, it does justice. I'm torn about Shirley and Michael's relationship though. I wish they could have ended up together, it's be a happy ending for Shirley but it wouldn't be for Michael's family. Oh well. I guess Adult-Teen romance will seldom find a happy ending.

I give the movie 2 thumbs up.

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4 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
As the great poet Winger opined: daddy says she's too young, but she's old enough for me, 17 September 2008

Author: movieman_kev from United States

Shirley is just your normal babysitting teenager, until she begins an affair with one of her clients (John Leguizamo). After he slips her a few extra bucks in addition to her normal babysitting fee, she quickly decides to make this into a business opportunity and gets her girlfriends into the act of making dough the 'hard' way.

I found this film to be pretty good as a whole, even if the ending is horribly contrived and ties things up too easily. John Lequizamo gives possibly his best performance in a good long while, keeping it low key without his usual annoying flaboyancies. The rest of the cast is serviceable enough and it's reasonably well directed. It managed to keep my interest throughout the duration of the film (always a good sign), even if there were some plot holes I couldn't really overlook.

Eye Candy: Katherine Waterston gets topless

My Grade: C+

DVD Extras: Commentary with writer/Director David Ross & actress Katherine Waterston; a 7 & a half minute making-of; theatrical trailer; and trailers for "the Go-getter" & "Towards Darkness"

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