This really should've been 2 movies. There are 2 great premises here that are almost completely unrelated that are just squashed together into 1 not-so-good film. We have the hilarious slapstick comedy of covering up the death of an elderly babysitter, and a woman trying to find a way to save the company she works for (which is a movie that I personally wouldn't have cared for, but probably would've made a great chick flick), both of which could've easily carried themselves over an hour and a half each.
Instead, all we get is a half-hour of comedy and an hour of boring Yuppie-ville Corporate America, with the plot of the first half-hour poking it's head every so often, mercilessly trying to remind us that we're supposed to be watching a comedy. But just as quickly as those every-so-often's come up, they disappear back into the void.
And they should've done away with the 'no money, gotta get a job' plot device, as that was pretty much what killed the rest of this film. They could've developed a lot more comedy just out of them say... having a party and trashing the house, or relatives come looking for the babysitter, or mother comes home early, or from the fact that they should've just called an ambulance in the first place seeing as how the babysitter really did die of natural causes and they wouldn't have been in any trouble anyway, or any number of possible plot devices that could've been so much funnier than Christina Applegate parading around in Yuppie-land. And as for that part of the film being it's own movie, this section has a lot more detail than the first half. Just add a bit more character development to the supporting cast, and bam, you got that film.
The acting is overall fairly decent though. Christina Applegate is definitely convincing as both the valley girl and the yuppie. Keith Coogan as Kenny and the hilarious pranks that him and his gang pull are sadly underused in my opinion, although his transformation from stoner slacker to Julia Child-obsessed chef throughout the film is one of the best parts of the film. Josh Charles (whom everybody would remember as anchor Dan Rydell from the show Sports Night) as the boyfriend Bryan does a fairly decent job here as well.
Eda Reiss Merin as the elderly babysitter had me scared stiff. The actress also was sadly underused before the character's untimely death. I mean, come on. The title of the movie is based on this character. Had that been it's own movie (forsaking the Corporate America bit, as I suggested earlier), they could've developed the character a lot more. Maybe have her dole out some worse embarrassments and harsher punishments to the children before her death.
Most of the actors in the latter part of the film were pretty stiff. The actress who played Carolyn should've been replaced, as it seemed that she read her lines like a wannabe actress in a poorly written commercial. I was however surprised to see David Duchovny (long before his triumphs on The X-Files & Californication) with the worst hair cut the 80's had to offer, and stiff as a board in the acting department.
So basically that's it. 2 good premises, but one overall lousy film.
Instead, all we get is a half-hour of comedy and an hour of boring Yuppie-ville Corporate America, with the plot of the first half-hour poking it's head every so often, mercilessly trying to remind us that we're supposed to be watching a comedy. But just as quickly as those every-so-often's come up, they disappear back into the void.
And they should've done away with the 'no money, gotta get a job' plot device, as that was pretty much what killed the rest of this film. They could've developed a lot more comedy just out of them say... having a party and trashing the house, or relatives come looking for the babysitter, or mother comes home early, or from the fact that they should've just called an ambulance in the first place seeing as how the babysitter really did die of natural causes and they wouldn't have been in any trouble anyway, or any number of possible plot devices that could've been so much funnier than Christina Applegate parading around in Yuppie-land. And as for that part of the film being it's own movie, this section has a lot more detail than the first half. Just add a bit more character development to the supporting cast, and bam, you got that film.
The acting is overall fairly decent though. Christina Applegate is definitely convincing as both the valley girl and the yuppie. Keith Coogan as Kenny and the hilarious pranks that him and his gang pull are sadly underused in my opinion, although his transformation from stoner slacker to Julia Child-obsessed chef throughout the film is one of the best parts of the film. Josh Charles (whom everybody would remember as anchor Dan Rydell from the show Sports Night) as the boyfriend Bryan does a fairly decent job here as well.
Eda Reiss Merin as the elderly babysitter had me scared stiff. The actress also was sadly underused before the character's untimely death. I mean, come on. The title of the movie is based on this character. Had that been it's own movie (forsaking the Corporate America bit, as I suggested earlier), they could've developed the character a lot more. Maybe have her dole out some worse embarrassments and harsher punishments to the children before her death.
Most of the actors in the latter part of the film were pretty stiff. The actress who played Carolyn should've been replaced, as it seemed that she read her lines like a wannabe actress in a poorly written commercial. I was however surprised to see David Duchovny (long before his triumphs on The X-Files & Californication) with the worst hair cut the 80's had to offer, and stiff as a board in the acting department.
So basically that's it. 2 good premises, but one overall lousy film.