- Actors: Sabrina Carpenter, Sofia Carson, Max Lloyd-Jones, Kevin G. Quinn
- Director: John Schultz
- Writer: Tiffany Paulsen
- Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- Dubbed: French, Spanish
- Region: Region 1
- Number of discs: 1
- Studio: Walt Disney Studios
- DVD Release Date: June 28, 2016
- Run Time: 90 minutes
Taking little
other than the title from the 1987 classic, Adventures
in Babysitting is a typical Disney Channel ‘original’ movie, complete with
the usual cheesy characters that end up learning predictably sappy lessons
through their sanitized hijinks together. The only thing surprising about this
hokey endeavor is the number of questionable habits taught along the way, most
of which are at the expense of the clueless parents. Dishonesty and theft are
encouraged, while the bigger sin is being too responsible as a teenager. This
film tries to be as edgy as the original while existing in a world where bad
guys are bumbling idiots and the cops are cute romantic interests. Trying to
make the film family-safe while retaining the original premise ends up making
this one of the more socially irresponsible children films I have ever seen. On
top of that, it’s not very good.
Adventures in Babysitting begins with a
harmlessly derivative set-up involving two girls with completely different
approaches to life. Jenny (Sabrina Carpenter) is a responsible high school
student portrayed as uptight and rule-obsessed, whereas Lola (Sofia Carson) is
a nineteen-year-old artistic personality unafraid to do illegal and immoral
things on a whim. Lola is portrayed as fun despite her irresponsibility, and
Jenny is seen to be stuffy despite being exactly the type you would want to
care for your kids. These two accidentally exchange their cell phones when
competing for the same internship, despite the fact that Lola has made obvious
artistic alterations to the phone which would be instantly noticeable. Lola
uses Jenny’s phone and lies her way into a babysitting job, unconvincingly
bringing the pair back together again when one of the children escapes to see a
concert in the city.
Jenny and Lola
predictably end up stranded in the city with the five children, mostly due to
their own lack of common sense. When they somehow become involved in a
ridiculous scheme involving a stolen ferret, they are chased by a pair of inept
criminals who spend most of the film resembling bad copies of the Home Alone crooks, prat falls and all.
The kids continually outsmart them, all the while coming up with numerous
illegal schemes to get back home. When scalping a concert ticket gets Lola
arrested, she is fortunate to run into a beat cop in his mid-twenties that she
can flirt with. This city cop will somehow track the 19-year-old down in the
suburbs later for an extremely creepy romantic resolution. The final lesson for
the babysitters comes when they successfully steal the money needed to get home,
taking it from the parents paying them to do their job in the first place.
I know the original Adventures in Babysitting was not void
of edgy material as a PG-13 release, but at least it didn’t attempt to hide
behind the Disney logo and a series of sanitized set-pieces while giving the
young viewers questionable lessons about lying, cheating, and stealing in order
to have fun and get your way without getting caught. This film can’t decide
what it wants to be, and ends up inappropriate for all. Younger audiences don’t
need a lesson on being more irresponsible, and older audiences will scoff at
the portrayal of city nightlife, including the vomit-inducing babysitter rap
sequences which take place when the kids sneak into a nightclub. I can’t
imagine who this film is for, other than those unable to think critically about
the garbage they are being fed.
The sole special
feature is a collection of outtakes in a blooper reel.
Entertainment Value:
3/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 2/10
Historical
Significance: 0/10
Special Features: 1.5/10
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