Adventures In Babysitting
Spoilers for Adventures in Babysitting to follow.
Adventures in Babysitting is the kind of movie that, whenever I watched it as a kid, I would always imagine something similar happening to me. It just seemed so fun and dangerous (but also safe because, you know, movies). It didn’t hurt that this is all involves children ranging from ages 8 to 17 either. As such, this flick is deeply ingrained in my brain, specifically so I think, because of how much I fantasized about being part of a crazy night in the windy city (this fantasy may or may not have included me being the hero AND getting the girl). However, I think this is only the second time I’ve watched it as an adult, and both times have cemented just how great of an 80s kid flick (with a very dark edge) Adventures in Babysitting really is.
For those who don’t know the film, the answer truly does lie in the title. The film follows High School senior Kris, played by the incomparable Elizabeth Shue (I LOVE HER) who gets stuck babysitting a family friends daughter after her boyfriend cancels their big anniversary date. Yadda yadda yadda, Kris, the daughter, her 15 year old brother and his idiot best friend go on an adventure in downtown Chicago in an attempt to save Kris’ friend from running away. Hijinks involving car jacking, a small criminal empire, the power of the blues and maybe even the real Thor appearing in the form of Vincent D’Onofrio ensue. Adventures in babysitting indeed.
This movie rests on the shoulders of Elizabeth Shue, and the budding star handles it with ease. If it’s not already clear, I had a major crush on Shue in this movie when I was a kid, and it’s all thanks to her incredibly funny and sincere performance. Kris is the perfect girl next door. Smart, funny, kind, beautiful, and confident (with a hint of vulnerability to boot), and Shue embodies the perfect combination of all those traits to a T, and still manages to surprise the audience with just how far Kris is willing to go to protect these kids (“Don’t FUCK with the babysitter!”).
The rest of the kids are perfect as well. Keith Coogan (Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead) plays Brad and Anthony Rapp (Dazed and Confused) plays his friend Daryl and they play teenage nice guy and teenage ass hole to perfection. And young actress Maia Brewton is tough as nails as 8 year old Sara.
Adventures in Babysitting was director Chris Columbus’ (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire) first movie as a director, and surprisingly, the film has a slightly darker edge than one might expect from a movie like this. The film is rated PG-13 and it definitely pushes that rating to the extreme, with plenty of language (‘fuck’ is actually said twice here) and a plethora of children in danger (one even gets a knife to the foot). But then again, when Debra Hill produces your movie, a bit of an edge is expected. Hill produced Halloween, The Fog, Escape From New York, The Dead Zone, and The Fisher King (among many others).
Also adding to the films 80s bonafides is composer Michael Kamen, who composed such 80s and 90s staples such as the entire Lethal Weapon franchise, Die Hard 1 and 2, Road House, Hudson Hawk, and The Last Boy Scout (among many others).
All this to say, I bought Adventures in Babysitting because it is a legit piece of rock solid 80s entertainment. The cast is perfect, the tone rides the line of legit peril and wacky shenanigans, and in the end they all turn out fine. Why wouldn’t I want to own that shit?