Adventures in Babysitting (1987)Babysitting's supposed to be (comparatively) easy work. When reluctant high school senior Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) gets "pulled out of retirement" to take care of a young girl with a Thor obsession named Sara Anderson (Maia Brewton) and her brother Brad (Keith Coogan), who not so secretly pines for Chris, instead of seeing her boyfriend, Mike (Bradley Whitford), who bailed on their big date, that would seem like a bad enough night in and of itself. But when she learns her friend, Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller), has run away from home to the city, and she is the only one who can rescue her, Chris discovers her troubles are just beginning.
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Adventures in Babysitting (1987) is a charming, light-hearted comedy about a group of teenagers who get in over their heads, stranded in the big city of Chicago. Chris, the Anderson kids, and Brad's friend, Daryl (Anthony Rapp), are all suburbanites, terrified of the perils they assume await them in the scary city. In a way, the perceptions these kids have of Chicago in Adventures in Babysitting are largely what molds the city to fit their expectations. The suburbs which Chris calls home is the safe, quaint realm where little happens, but the city is a dark, ominous place, where only the brave venture. En route to pick up Brenda from the bus station--where her collect call to Chris has her describing a leering man with a gun and a homeless man claiming she's occupying his "house"--Chris tells a scary story to pass the time about a man with a hook. After suffering a flat tire on the expressway, a tow truck driver stops, his thick beard and hooked hand making him the image of the murderer Chris described. What she didn't count on was that the driver, calling himself "Handsome" John Pruitt (John Ford Noonan), is actually a generous Samaritan--except when it comes to his wife. His offer to tow them to Dawson's garage is something Chris and the kids don't expect, because they've just assumed that the city is full of crooks and gangs; funny thing is, they're not all wrong. Chris encounters nice folks at odd intervals, including a reasonable carjacker and a "Prince Charming" college guy in a fraternity who both try to aid Chris in her crusade to rescue Brenda and get the kids back home in one piece. But Chris also ends up crossing paths with real criminals, like other, less beneficent stolen car traders and actual gangs armed with switchblades. A misunderstanding involving a stolen Playboy magazine--whose centerfold, Chaylene, bears an uncanny resemblance to Chris--is what puts the car thieves on the kids' trail, who pursue them on the streets of Chicago while Chris tries to control the situation and get everyone home alive.
Although Chris is tasked as the guardian of the children, and is the true protagonist of Adventures in Babysitting, Brad's affection for her makes him sympathetic for any guy whose been in a similarly impossible scenario, attracted to a girl who it just won't work out with. Aside from the age difference of a few years (crucial in the lives of teens), Brad's crush on Chris is initially formed on superficial reasons; Chris is pretty, but Brad doesn't really know her. Through their mutual hardship, they do get to know one another better, and open up so that they understand one another more. Brad stands up for Chris, even at great peril, because he comes to respect her in addition to his fondness for her. It's pretty clear that although Brad grows throughout the events of Adventures in Babysitting--maybe even more than Chris--he also understands that the gulf is just too wide for them at this time, and that although they become friends, that's all it can be. It's a bittersweet note that is genuine and convincing, and a smart plot point which defies conventional romance paradigms in a comedy.
From the initial blowout on the expressway, Chris' challenge is in maintaining her cool as the trials and tribulations of her commission escalate into more than mere inconvenience and into outright life-threatening moments. Chris' nerve is tempered by each encounter, and one would expect her to be a hardened veteran with a thousand-yard stare by the time the night is through. Aside from the tense encounters, like navigating the rafters to escape the clutches of their criminal captors, Chris even has to confront her stage fright when she inadvertently interrupts a blues performance at a night club, where "no one leaves without singing the blues". Chris' interests as a high school girl don't include perilous adventure on the streets of Chicago at night, but do include her fantasies about being in love with a guy who is "so cool" like Mike. The opening montage of Adventures in Babysitting may look big and involved, but from Chris' perspective, the night of their anniversary is a big deal, something she's cherished and celebrates, hence her disappointment when he tells her he's got to "take care of his sick kid sister"; it also justifies why she's still got make up on for a babysitting gig. Chris is the kind of girl whose problems are very much the kind which teenage girls endure, the kind she commiserates with Brenda about, giving her a down to earth, natural quality which makes the wild events which happen to her all the more outlandish. The eponymous adventures Chris endures as she takes care of her three juniors recall certain action movie tropes, like when she claims she's "too old for this crap" and she's "retired". After all, if her story's any testament, babysitting and action hero antics aren't that far removed.
Recommended for: Fans of a cute and exciting 1980s classic comedy, which is charming, sweet and thrilling all at once.
Although Chris is tasked as the guardian of the children, and is the true protagonist of Adventures in Babysitting, Brad's affection for her makes him sympathetic for any guy whose been in a similarly impossible scenario, attracted to a girl who it just won't work out with. Aside from the age difference of a few years (crucial in the lives of teens), Brad's crush on Chris is initially formed on superficial reasons; Chris is pretty, but Brad doesn't really know her. Through their mutual hardship, they do get to know one another better, and open up so that they understand one another more. Brad stands up for Chris, even at great peril, because he comes to respect her in addition to his fondness for her. It's pretty clear that although Brad grows throughout the events of Adventures in Babysitting--maybe even more than Chris--he also understands that the gulf is just too wide for them at this time, and that although they become friends, that's all it can be. It's a bittersweet note that is genuine and convincing, and a smart plot point which defies conventional romance paradigms in a comedy.
From the initial blowout on the expressway, Chris' challenge is in maintaining her cool as the trials and tribulations of her commission escalate into more than mere inconvenience and into outright life-threatening moments. Chris' nerve is tempered by each encounter, and one would expect her to be a hardened veteran with a thousand-yard stare by the time the night is through. Aside from the tense encounters, like navigating the rafters to escape the clutches of their criminal captors, Chris even has to confront her stage fright when she inadvertently interrupts a blues performance at a night club, where "no one leaves without singing the blues". Chris' interests as a high school girl don't include perilous adventure on the streets of Chicago at night, but do include her fantasies about being in love with a guy who is "so cool" like Mike. The opening montage of Adventures in Babysitting may look big and involved, but from Chris' perspective, the night of their anniversary is a big deal, something she's cherished and celebrates, hence her disappointment when he tells her he's got to "take care of his sick kid sister"; it also justifies why she's still got make up on for a babysitting gig. Chris is the kind of girl whose problems are very much the kind which teenage girls endure, the kind she commiserates with Brenda about, giving her a down to earth, natural quality which makes the wild events which happen to her all the more outlandish. The eponymous adventures Chris endures as she takes care of her three juniors recall certain action movie tropes, like when she claims she's "too old for this crap" and she's "retired". After all, if her story's any testament, babysitting and action hero antics aren't that far removed.
Recommended for: Fans of a cute and exciting 1980s classic comedy, which is charming, sweet and thrilling all at once.