Dreadfully Boring

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

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

This is a perfect 80's movie. It fits right into the category that already includes the best of John Hughes' input (and what big 80's kid movie didn't he do?!) and a few others. One of the pluses is the cast. Shue is wonderful as Chris, a young girl who is trying desperately to save her friend and keep her young charges out of harm's way. The kids themselves are good. They may have some typical young kid annoyances, but they are all pretty good and make it feel like they are real kids who you actually like. Penelope Ann Miller is one of the best parts here. With her big glasses, nerdy appearance, and comical misadventures of her own in the bus terminal, she delivers many of the funniest moments.It's all inoffensive and good-natured, though I was surprised to hear a couple of F-bombs in there, and some of the dialogue is a little raunchy. Babysitting is no classic, but has lasting appeal and is a fun ride. Michael Kamen also provides a score which sounds like a "Die Hard" prototype, lending a little more weight to the adventure than would be typical. But overall, "Adventures in Babysitting" delivers real laughs while taking you on a wild ride through the wicked bowels of the city.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Adventures in Babysitting is one of those movies that all of the kids back in the day saw apart from me. No particular reason, I just never got around to it. With the new Blu-ray I figured now would be right time to catch up on what I missed.It's not a John Hughes movie, but it does have a similar aesthetic and is set in a cold, snowy Chicago (a common Hughes theme), and it's the director debut of Chris Columbus who worked with Hughes on the first two Home Alone movies. Babysitting is quite similar in that is has a bunch of kids/teens getting into all kinds of hi-jinks while evading and outsmarting crooked grown-ups.Elizabeth Shue plays Chris Parker (no relation to Jennifer Parker from BTTF) a girl who has been stood-up by her sleazeball boyfriend and ends up babysitting for a wealthy couple while they go hob-nobbing in the city. Though content to sit in the house all night she gets a frantic call from her friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) who is trapped in an inner city bus station and needs rescued. Multiple detours and deviations make the rescue no easy task. I guess in this sense the movie feels a little bit like Planes, Trains and Automobiles.It's all inoffensive and good-natured, though I was surprised to hear a couple of F-bombs in there, and some of the dialogue is a little raunchy. Babysitting is no classic, but has lasting appeal and is a fun ride. Michael Kamen also provides a score which sounds like a Die Hard prototype, lending a little more weight to the adventure than would be typical. Stay watching until after the credits for an extra scene.

Chris Parker is expecting to have a great night out with her boyfriend but things don't go according to plan; first he cancels, telling her that his little sister is ill and he must look after her; then she is asked to babysit eight year old Sara and her fifteen year old brother Brad. She hasn't been there long when she gets a desperate phone call from her friend Brenda who ran away from home and is now in the city bus station without any money. Chris can't not help her friend nor can she leave the children alone so they all head into Chicago along with Brad's friend Daryl. It should be a simple thing to do but everything that can go wrong does; they have a blowout, the car has no spare tyre and Chris forgot her purse; this leads to a run in with a hook-handed tow truck driver, a car thief, a group of mobsters and a couple of gangs! Before the film is over they will almost get shot, walk across a high girder, crash a frat party, crash the party attended by Sara's parents and Sara will end up stuck on the outside of a skyscraper!This film is a lot of fun with laughs from start to finish; the situations are obviously over the top but it should be easy enough to suspend ones disbelief and enjoy the adventure. Elisabeth Shue does a fine job as Chris although young Maia Brewton, who plays Sara, steals just about every scene she is in; no matter how scary the situation she acts like it is part of a fun adventure; more importantly she isn't one of those annoyingly precocious child characters. While they get in numerous dangerous situations there is never a feeling that any of them might get hurt so it shouldn't scare younger viewers... although I suppose some parents might not approve of the running gag concerning Chris being mistaken for the current Playboy centrefold! This actually turns out to be a key plot point when one of the boys steals a copy belonging to a mobster who has written incriminating details in it. Plenty of good teen comedies were churned out in the eighties and nineties and while this isn't one of the best known ones it is certainly well worth watching if it is on television.