The Sitter (2011)

A college student on suspension is coaxed into babysitting the kids next door, though he is fully unprepared for the wild night ahead of him.

Director:

David Gordon Green

Writers:

Brian Gatewood, Alessandro Tanaka

Stars:

Jonah Hill, Max Records, Ari Graynor

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonah Hill	...	Noah Griffith
Max Records	...	Slater Pedulla
Ari Graynor	...	Marisa Lewis
J.B. Smoove	...	Julio
Sam Rockwell	...	Karl
Landry Bender	...	Blithe Pedulla
Kevin Hernandez	...	Rodrigo
Kylie Bunbury	...	Roxanne
Erin Daniels	...	Mrs. Pedulla
D.W. Moffett	...	Dr. Pedulla
Jessica Hecht	...	Sandy Griffith
Bruce Altman	...	Jim Griffith
Method Man	...	Jacolby (as Cliff 'Method Man' Smith)
Sean Patrick Doyle	...	Garv
Alex Wolff	...	Clayton

Storyline

Noah, is not your typical entertain-the-kids-no-matter-how-boring-it-is kind of sitter. He's reluctant to take a sitting gig; he'd rather, well, be doing anything else, especially if it involves slacking. When Noah is watching the neighbor's kid he gets a booty call from his girlfriend in the city. To hook up with her, Noah takes to the streets, but his urban adventure spins out of control as he finds himself on the run from a maniacal drug lord.

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Plot Keywords:

babysitting | subway | chinatown manhattan new york city | stolen car | woman punching a man | 

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Taglines:

Worst. Babysitter. Ever.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, drug material and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un niñero sinvergüenza

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$9,851,435 (USA) (9 December 2011)

Gross:

$30,538,669 (USA) (9 March 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Michael De Luca Productions, Rough House Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 87 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character Garv, played by Broadway actor Sean Patrick Doyle, is based on an eccentric roller-skater Jonah Hill met in Venice Beach. The role was added to later drafts of the script.

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Goofs

When Jonah gets out of the minivan before getting the drugs, the headlights are off but when it zooms out to the wide shot, they are on.

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Quotes

Noah Griffith: My name's Noah Jaybird. Ca caaa! What's your name?
Soul Baby: They call me Soul. Soul Baby.
Noah Griffith: Soul Baby?
Soul Baby: Yeah.
Noah Griffith: Keep it in control baby. Tears, no fears man.
Soul Baby: Is that right?
Noah Griffith: Respect it, don't neglect it. Treat it, don't beat it.
[walks away]
Soul Baby: You're a badass motherfucker.

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.50 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Because I Got It Like That (Ultimatium Mix)"
Written by Jeff Lynne, Nathaniel Hall, Michael Small
Performed by Jungle Brothers (as The Jungle Brothers)
Courtesy of Phase One Communications / Warlock Records

User Reviews

A deflated and desperate ride through the formula of chaos

The Sitter is a deflated comedy robbed of all laughs, jokes, and originality. It knows formula well, but doesn't know where to go from there. It also knows how to pick a lovable lead actor who is consistently funny in everything he does. It's the second film to be released by independent filmmaker David Gordon Green this next to Your Highness. Both will earn a special place on my list of worst films for 2011.

Even since Your Highness, David Gordon Green has successfully put me in a state of never-ending puzzlement. Here's a guy that has made back to back acclaimed independent features, and now, chooses to use his time directing lame, directionless comedies without wit or a soul. The Sitter takes an already mediocre premise and refuses to push it off its feet into something more original or fresh. It understands the formula inside out, but proceeds to disregard everything else.

Noah (Hill) is a layabout who is lured into babysitting three children for his mom's friend so they can go to a party together. The kids are sexual confused Slater (Record), the pint sized fourth Kardashian Blithe (Bender), and the rebellious Latino Rodrigo (Hernandez). What kind of children are these? They're not normal children. They feel like real people shrunk down to fit pint sized kids. Regardless, their roles aren't at all funny.

Soon after arriving at the job and discovering the chaotic duty behind it, Noah's girlfriend Marisa (Graynor) calls asking him to deliver her cocaine at a party and she'll reward him with sex. Noah tries to get cocaine, but Rodrigo winds up stealing an egg full of cocaine, costing Noah over $10,000.

Oh, and I'm not even going to continue from there. The film is relentless in its gags and events, none of them even remotely realistic or the least bit funny. The biggest laughs, in fact, aren't even from Jonah Hill, but J.B. Smoove who you may recognize as Leon from Curb Your Enthusiasm. I actually would've adored the idea of him playing the babysitter much more than Hill. Don't you hate it when that happens? In the same movie, you find an actor who is playing the secondary character, but you wind up liking him more than the actor playing primary character and wish the film went through some sort of star reversal? The endangerment of the kids is sickening, the jokes appallingly unfunny, the setups are outlandish, and the sentimentality the film tries to shoot for at the end is deplorable. We just saw a man put these children through hell, he's unapologetic throughout the entire film, and now he wants to make a complete three-sixty and get on their good side.

Is this as bad as Green's Your Highness? It's close. Your Highness at least had the ability to have me stay frustrated for several hours after watching the film. I got over The Sitter's abashed nature quickly, but felt saddened and cheated. I was hoping that Green would seek redemption in the character and everything wouldn't go the way it was supposed to. Green isn't the director who stays inside the lines, so I was hoping he'd make a smarter comedy here.

The Sitter is an exercise is cheap filmmaking. It relies on lackluster stereotypes, recycled jokes, and caricatures to function inside its dead formula. It's a miserable comedic workout.

Starring: Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, Sam Rockwell, Method Man, Kevin Hernandez, Max Records, and Landry Bender. Directed by: David Gordon Green.