Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Adventures in Babysitting'

Written by Scott Edwards

One thing that most everyone should have done when they were growing up is take a babysitting job. It is good money for a couple of hours of work and most of the time, the kids you are looking after are happy to see you. As a parent, trying to find the right person for the job has become much more stressful over the years, since now you have to conduct interviews and have to install nanny cams to make sure that your kids are safe at all times with the new person in their lives. But once you are comfortable with the person that will be taking care of your offspring, you will call on them all of the time and just pray that they are available for your night away.

Chris is looking forward to a great date night with her boyfriend Mike. She is expecting a magical evening at the finest French restaurant in the city, but when Mike comes by to let her know that the night is off, Chris is destroyed. Being a high school senior, Chris is looking for a man to spend the rest of her life with, but with these plans now off the table, she will have nothing to do. Getting a call from the Anderson’s to watch their kids on short notice, Chris feels that she is too old to babysit, but with nothing else happening on this night, she gives in.

Sara Anderson is very happy that her favorite babysitter is coming over to watch her and rubs it in her big brother’s face. Brad is ecstatic that Chris will be at his house as he has a massive crush on her but has plans to sleep over at his best friend’s Daryl’s house. As plans quickly start to change, Chris gets a call from her best friend Brenda who has just run away from home and needs help in getting back home as she does not have enough money to take the train anywhere and she guilts Chris into leaving her duties as a babysitter and being a good friend, Chris heads down to the city where anything could happen. 

As Chris, Sara, Brad and Daryl experience a blowout on their drive into the city, they find that they are going to have a strange night to say the least. Being picked up by a nice tow truck driver and offered a helping hand for a night that has already started off wrong, the group is drawn into a bad situation as the driver receives a call that his wife is cheating on him. As shots are fired, Chris and the kids get into the car that is sitting in the driveway, but it already has an inhabitant in it, Joe, who is looking to steal it. Becoming an accomplice to a car theft, Chris’ main concern is with the safety of the kids, but when they arrive at the local chop shop, she finds out that she will need to worry about her own safety as well as they have been drawn into a much stickier situation than expected.

I love this movie and am not going to lie, I wanted to do this with at least once with one of my babysitters at the time but was shot down consistently. Going on an adventure when the folks were out was always a dream, I mean, what kind of mischief could I get into when the threat of being spanked was always on the table, but babysitters did not have the authority to do that to me. Even with all of the fun the group has together, it does seem like they were destined to get into some sort of trouble regardless of what happened. Although my babysitters hardly ever let me leave the house when they were watching me, I learned from this movie that it is okay to take the kids out for at least ice cream to calm them down for just a few minutes. Babysitting could be a tough gig, but once you have it perfected with the kids you are watching consistently, it could be a lot of fun as well. Happy viewing.
 

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