Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Sitter



My first thoughts on "The Sitter" was that this would just be a guys version of "Adventures in Babysitting" (1987), and that gut feeling is pretty accurate. If you mix in a little "Get Him to the Greek", then you pretty accurately described the film. At least, director David Gordon Green, has redeemed himself from the disaster that was "Your Highness" earlier this year, but not close to what he has done with "Eastbound and Down" or "Pineapple Express" (2008). The promotional movie poster includes the personal phone number of Jonah Hill. It is listed as (917) 409-7838 and if you call it you will hear a message about how fucked up it is to take children on drug deals.

The film is about Noah (Jonah Hill) who is a self proclaimed loser that gets talked into babysitting so that his mother (Jessica Hecht) can go on a much deserved date. Even though he would rather watch James Franco on General Hospital, or how they perfected the pancake (sorry WaffleBot), he begrudgingly takes on the babysitting responsibility. That is until his "girlfriend" (Ari Graynor) tells him that they will finally have sex and he for some reason decides to pile the kids into a minivan and go for an adventure. Of course drug use, police, and explosions take place; but there are a few lighter moments where Noah is able to provide guidance to the children to help them be better people. The children break every stereotype, which in a way is actually refreshing to see as there is Slater (Max Records) who is as queer as a football bat; Blithe (Landry Bender) who is a future JonBenét Ramsey; and Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez) who is the future Unabomber.

Of course any film involving Jonah Hill requires a certain amount of improvisation and his signature is all over the place. Whether it is his inability to buy underwear, or his jive talking the thugs to get out of a jam, he delivers the comedy. Jonah Hill was much better in "Moneyball", but that is an entirely different genre for him. Not to be missed is the performance from Sam Rockwell as the drug kingpin that is over the top and provides some of the best lines in the film.

If you are looking for something funny this weekend that is the opposite of the other films competing for the latest Oscar buzz, then this film might be perfect. Stick around for the credits as there are some additional items that will make you laugh. Given the time of year this is a decent 3 Quack film. So go make love to the night and let me know what you think.

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