Adventures in Babysitting (1987)

A babysitter must battle her way through the big city after being stranded there with the kids she's looking after.

Director:

Chris Columbus

Writer:

David Simkins

Stars:

Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elisabeth Shue	...	Chris
Maia Brewton	...	Sara
Keith Coogan	...	Brad
Anthony Rapp	...	Daryl
Calvin Levels	...	Joe Gipp
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Dawson (as Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio)
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Brenda
George Newbern	...	Dan
John Ford Noonan	...	Pruitt
Bradley Whitford	...	Mike
Ron Canada	...	Graydon
John Davis Chandler	...	Bleak (as John Chandler)
Dan Ziskie	...	Mr. Anderson
Allan Aarons	...	Janitor #1
Marcia Bennett	...	Nurse

Storyline

Chris Parker agrees to babysit after her boyfriend, Mike Todwell, stands her up. Expecting a dull evening, she settles down with three kids for a night of TV...and boredom. But when her frantic friend, Brenda, calls and pleads to be rescued from the bus station in downtown Chicago, the evening soon explodes into an endless whirl of hair raising adventures. Chris and the kids leave their safe suburban surroundings and head for the heart of the big city, never imagining how terrifyingly funny their expedition will become.

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Plot Keywords:

flat tire | playboy magazine | babysitter | urban setting | babysitting | 

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Taglines:

A lifetime of fun in just one night.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sharon Stone auditioned for the lead role.

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Goofs

Crew members are reflected in Sara's helmet when Brad calls Thor a homo.

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Quotes

Janitor #1: Put the animal down.
Brenda: Why?
Janitor #2: We gotta kill it!
Brenda: [shocked] What? You monsters! Why would you want to kill a poor defenseless little kitten?
Janitor #2: Kitten?
[both janitors start laughing loudly]
Janitor #1: This ain't no kitten, kid.
Janitor #2: That's a jumbo-sized sewer rat!
[camera goes down to see that they are right, and Brenda screams hysterically]

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Crazy Credits

The title does not appear until five minutes after the opening credits.

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Alternate Versions

When aired on television, even on The Disney Channel, the scene where Brad calls Thor a homo was changed to where he now calls him a weirdo.

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Connections

Referenced in American Dragon: Jake Long: Adventures in Troll-Sitting (2005)

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Soundtracks

Just Can't Stop
Written by Barry Goldberg and Jay Gruska
Performed by Percy Sledge
Produced by Jay Gruska

User Reviews

Babysitting Was Never This Much Fun For Me

When I first saw this movie in the late 1980's I thought to myself how whenever I had babysat I had had a pretty boring night stuck in front of a TV hoping the kids wouldn't wake up crying and spoil the peace. How I wish they had been more like this movie.

Elizabeth Shue plays Chris Parker who is babysitting one night but due to certain circumstances ends up taking the kids out on the town in order to pick up one of her friends. What follows is all sorts of adventures involving thugs, crooks, thieves, the lot. The film is totally funny to watch and has some really good scenes in. Two that come to mind involve a fight between two gangs on a train and one involving the god of Thunder Thor (well, not the Thor you would be expecting).

This is an exciting movie which was typical of 1980's movies. Boy, I wish they could make movies like that now. The 80's has got to be the best decade ever for films of all genres and this movie is just one of many great comedy films of that era. Oh and by the way, I think Elizabeth Shue is beautiful and I believe this was her best role.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 July 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adventures in Babysitting

Filming Locations:

150 N. Wells Street, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,901,297, 5 July 1987

Gross USA:

$34,368,475

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,368,475

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners III

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1