» Review Summary
Forgotten Friday - Adventures in Babysitting
Short Version: A fun light 80s movie with a little adventure for everyone who has ever broken the rules while babysitting.
Release: July 1 1987
Genre: Action Adventure Comedy
Director: Chris Columbus
Staring: Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp, Penelope Ann Miller
» Review
Forgotten Friday - Adventures in Babysitting
Thanks for checking out our Forgotten Fridays feature. This is a feature to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share. They may not be old, maybe not forgotten, but they are not new. Just fun to share.
Today’s review is Adventures in Babysitting
THE GENERAL IDEA
Chris has a big night out planned when her boyfriend cancels on her. She agrees to babysit for a pre-teen girl who is obsessed with Thor and a teenage boy who is obsessed with the babysitter. She’s settled in for a dull night when a girlfriend calls her to say she’s marooned at a downtown bus station with very seedy characters around. The three plus one of the boy’s friends get into the parents station wagon for a trip to the inner city. All is well till the flat tire and it doesn’t get better after that.
THE GOOD
The characters are only a little stereotyped in this, which I really like. Chris (Elizabeth Shue) is super pretty and popular and is dating the jackass who thinks he is too cool (says so on his Camero’s license plate) But the boy who is crushing on the girl doesn’t get so creepy about it all, and his obnoxious friend still knows there are lines and never goes quite over the top.
The movie runs at a good pace as one disaster resolves, another begins only to find the first disaster catching up with them. The characters are fun, the lessons learned are light and the unbelievable mess they get in are still believable.. well mostly.
THE BAD
The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously so when things happen that don’t “make sense” or those “that wouldn’t happen” moments require a little glossing over. The soundtrack is forgettable, but not terrible.
OVERALL
The movie is a nice slice of the 80s without too much over the top pop culture being forced down your throat. Its a fun family friendly thrill ride that gives you some laughs and light moments. Great for kids, fun enough for adults.
I am going to introduce a new rating system for my Forgotten Fridays picks.
Since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I had a Tv, Rent or Buy scale going on, but it would seem that an overwhelming majority of my picks get a BUY rating.
So with every Forgotten Friday you see from now on, you get to rate your anticipation for yourself!
TV – If you are at least a little curious, catch it if it comes on TV.
Rent – If it is something you have heard of and forgotten, or just remember enjoying this as much as I did once upon a time, go rent it.
Buy – But if you are like me, and you agree with my review you should go buy it. If its featured here, I already have.
Great pick Rodney. I love this film.
Never seen it saw it on my directv movie channels a couple times so next time I’ll put it on but another good forgotten Friday would be toy soldiers n not da one bout da actually toy soldiers lol but the one with sean Astin n Lou gosset jr at the prep school takin over by Colombian drug cartel good movie enjoyed it alot
I saw that in theaters. It was a double feature day. I saw TMNT 2 - Secret of the Ooze and then sneaked into Toy Soldiers, haha!
OH wait, it was the first TMNT! not the second, my memory sucks lately.
Not forgotten. A classic. Isn’t the black guy who saves them at the end the same guy from Total Recall?
Just watched this on cable tv about two months ago, it was still fun after all this time. Still have a crush on Elisabeth Shue to this day.
I watched it on cable about two months ago too. I also bought it on DVD for my little sister for her birthday. I remember seeing it in the theater when I was about ten or eleven. An all around fun movie. I’d watch on TV in a heartbeat.
So my vote is TV, but I could see myself buying it if I come across it on sale for like five bucks.
Aint nobody leave here without singin’ the blues!
I love this movie and agree that it’s a definite buy. Elisabeth Shue, Elisabeth Shue singing the blues, Penelope Ann Miller and the rat, the sucker punch, and my favorite, Don’t &*#$ with the babysitter - all great bits of a really fun film.
This is definitely one of those on my classic 80’s list. It seems to get forgotten, yet is great for a bit of nostalgia. Fun too.
Bought it on DVD years ago when it first came out, love it!
@Kbowers: Toy Soldiers rulez!!
By the way, best line in Adventures in Babysitting:
“Nobody leaves this place without singing a blues”
I totally agree. My favorite line from that movie.
I like to play “spot the celebrity before they were a celebrity” in movies like this. My favorite one in this one is Vincent D’onofrio playing the mechanic who looks like Thor, only because he was completely jacked in this movie, and he must have put on 80 lbs to play Private Pyle in the following year or so.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I absolutely loved it since I was a kid. When they meet Thor, it’s nothing short of epic.
Such a wonderful and fun movie! I love this film!
@nacho toy soldiers def rules lol I absolutely love the movie n thanks for supportin me lol
Oh n @ 3r!c I’m pretty sure that da black guy is the same one from total recall
I watched this movie more times than I could probably count as a kid, but I don’t think I’ve actually seen it in more than 10 years. Thanks for reminding me of it, I’ll have to give it another watch sometime soon.
I owned the novelization as a kid but never saw the movie until well into my later teens.
I own the movie now and it’s really fun. Good choice. The novelization is awesome as well.
…and for those of us really paying attention, the obnoxious boyfirend was played by The West Wing’s Bradley Whitford.
THOR!!!!!!
Not Adv. in Babysitting…Can’t buy me love!
Dempsey doing the Swahili dance and everyone copying him, Funny…
Amanda Petersen = Yummy.
When I look at Elizabeth Shue all i think is Cocktail!