Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Blistering performances.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

RELEASED IN 1987 and directed by Chris Columbus, "Adventures in Babysitting" (aka "A Night on the Town") is a teen dramedy about 17 year-old babysitter, Chris (Elisabeth Shue), from the suburbs of Chicago who has no choice but to take the siblings she's babysitting (Keith Coogan & Maia Brewton) and their friend (Anthony Rapp) into the big city whereupon they have many misadventures. Penelope Ann Miller plays Chris' geeky friend (at the bus station), Calvin Levels a car thief, John Davis Chandler the main heavy and George Newbern a helpful college dude with eyes for Chris. I was surprised at how entertaining this movie is. It has the tone of an Indiana Jones flick, but with teen protagonists and taking place in a modern USA city. The Thor element was a unique surprise and the little girl is cute and spry. The protagonists are likable and you can sense the warmth in their relationships, e.g. Brad's infatuation with Chris. Unfortunately, the movie fumbles the ball on the female front a little bit. There are quality women in the cast, for sure, but the director never milks these resources for their worth (and I'm not tawkin' bout nudity or sleaze). Take Shue, for example (who was 21 during filming); she's dressed in a looong sweater or jacket that covers her figure the entire film. Compare this with her role in "The Karate Kid" (1984) where her beauty is well displayed and tastefully so. THE FILM RUNS 1 hour & 42 minutes and was shot in Toronto and the Chicago area. WRITER: David Simkins GRADE: B+/A-

This is a really lazy claim to make, but they really don't make kids movies anymore like "Adventures in Babysitting". Some of the dialogue is unexpectedly adult (modern fare admittedly sets that bar pretty low), and I think it still stands today as a prime example of the Big Bad City™. But it's also easy to expect overhearing sentiment and tacky plot twists in a movie like this, and the script largely avoids that. I've got respect for that, and this makes for a surprisingly watchable movie. It's a pretty good adventure into the dark and scary, and having the pretty Elizabeth Shue at the forefront helps immensely (not to mention having the world's nicest carjacker along for the ride).Good stuff.7/10

I quite like '80s US comedies as a whole but ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING left me cold. It's a little too kid-focused, for me, and the character that Elizabeth Shue plays is rather irritating throughout. While it's nice to see a movie that encapsulates plenty of popular culture from the era, the resultant adventure is rather silly and the direction from Chris Columbus more than a little lacking.In essence, a novice babysitter takes her various charges and goes on an adventure in downtown Chicago. The group get involved with various criminal types as well as various blossoming romances and the like, and there are nice supporting roles for actors like John Davis Chandler. Overall, though, this is supposed to be a comedy, and I'm afraid there was very little here that I laughed at.

I was 15 years old when I first watched this and while I knew even then that Adventures In Babysitting was aimed at a younger demographic like I was then,some of the content in this movie was appreciated even more by adults who had watched it.It's really a matter of individual interpretation what constitutes a great movie,but this one is actually a lot better than most give it credit for.Even though Elisabeth Shue was previously in The Karate Kid,I didn't really pay attention to her until this.She sure was a hottie then!Keith Coogan had pretty much fallen off the face of the Earth after this,Anthony Rapp has had a few projects on the go since,& I've seen Maia Brewton on an episode of The Wonder Years and appearances on a few other programs too.If you don't care to go out of your way to watch it,at least give it a chance if you're channel surfing on a lazy Sunday afternoon.