Adventures in Babysitting Review

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Released: 1987

Adventures in Babysitting is an 80's classic comedy-adventure about a group of children and their babysitter leaving the serenity of suburbia to head to the intimidating and chaotic city of Chicago to pick up a friend. What starts as a quick and easy mission soon turns into a zany adventure that features ruthless car thieves, street gangs and much, much more.

This is a movie that the whole family can enjoy as its innocent charm is enough to captivate both young and old. If your curiosity is has been sparked, make sure you continue on to the Feature Attraction…

The 80's were a wonderful decade for comedies, for you could find brilliant offerings in any of the sub-genres ranging from raunchy teen comedies to family-friendly faire. Adventures in Babysitting falls into the latter category, but although it is innocent enough for children it's intelligent enough for adults too. It's truly an adventure the entire family can enjoy; parents will not need to grin and bear it for the benefit of pleasing their kids.

The story starts innocent enough. Chris Parker's (Elisabeth Shue) boyfriend breaks a dinner date without warning, leaving her with nothing to do. Her idle evening doesn't last for long, though, when she is asked to babysit a girl, Sara Anderson (Maia Brewton), on short notice. While watching over the girl, she receives a call from her best friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) who happens to be stranded at a bus station in the midst of Chicago.

Now Chris must take Sara on a quick trip to the big city to rescue her friend. Brad Anderson (Keith Coogan), Sara's brother, tags along due to his infatuation with the beautiful babysitter, as does his buddy Daryl Coopersmith (Anthony Rapp). What starts as a simple trip soon becomes quite the adventure when one of the tires on the car blows out. Stranded in the midst of the city with no money, the young foursome must find a way to get the car fixed, rescue Brenda and get back to the house before the Anderson sibling's parents return home from their party.

Adventures in Babysitting pokes gentle fun at the fear some suburbanites possess of the big city by placing the kids in a wide assortment of crazy dilemmas. They cross paths with a hot-tempered tow truck driver who has a steel hook for a hand, a band of car thieves determined to chase them down and retrieve a stolen Playboy magazine one of the teen boys snagged, a blues band that refuses to allow them off their stage without singing a blues song (which turns out to be one of the highlights of the movie), two street gangs that soon discover it's not wise to provoke a babysitter and much more.

Director Chris Columbus did a fantastic job at introducing criminals and the seedy elements one would come across in the bad neighborhoods of a big city while keeping everything light-hearted and inoffensive. Each of the actors were perfectly selected and merged into their roles flawlessly, but two that really deserve special recognition are Elisabeth Shue and Maia Brewton. Shue was fantastic as the naïve, goodie-goodie babysitter, while Brewton put out an adorable performance as the young girl fascinated with the comic hero, Thor.

Adventures in Babysitting isn't the type of comedy that will have you belly laughing throughout the entire film (though there are some scenes that will certainly prompt such laughter), but it will keep a permanent contented smile on your face from start to finish. It's a charming, delightful and amusing movie that is just as lively and enjoyable today as it was back in the 80's.

Movie rating: 8 stars

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