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:

babysitter | babysitting | teen movie | teenage protagonist | female protagonist | 

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Taglines:

She thought babysitting was easy money - until she started hanging out with the Andersons.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tow truck driver hits a lawn jockey after reaching his house. Knocking over lawn jockey's later became a running joke in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York also directed by Chris Columbus.

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Goofs

As Chris and the gang are running down the alley, right before entering the Blues house, you can see at the end of the alley that it is daytime.

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Quotes

Brad: Uh... where's the spare?
Daryl: Maybe it's on the car... you think?

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Crazy Credits

Shot of the thug who chased the little girl outside of skyscraper whimpering about being stuck out there.

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Alternate Versions

On television broadcasts, during the subway scene, "fuck" is changed to "fool."

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Connections

Referenced in Revenge: Addiction (2014)

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Soundtracks

Future in Your Eyes
Written by Southside Johnny Lyon (as John Lyon) and Robin Batteaux
Performed by Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (as Southside Johnny and the Jukes)
Produced by Robert Kraft

User Reviews

for the genre, it's awfully good

The 1980s saw a proliferation of "teen movies". About 90% of them had nothing new to really say, starred teen "heart throbs" and were marketed ONLY to younger, dumber audiences. I was in my teens and twenties in this era, but even I thought these movies were awful==obviously I was the correct age but just "didn't get it". Uh, huh.

Many of these movies featured crude and dumb humor, ample boobies (which is odd, considering the audience technically was too young to be admitted to many of these dreadful films) and low production values. As I said before, the movies seemed to be marketed to dumb people. Don't believe me?! Well think back to such films as the PORKY'S movies, Freddy Kruger films, HALLOWEEN, the later ROCKY films, etc. These films truly were awful.

So, with all this dreck, it was nice to see a few teen-oriented films that didn't insult the audience or feature mind-rot. ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING (as well as films such as BETTER OFF DEAD) was a decent film that actually had something to say to teens--and it could be enjoyed by adults as well (what a concept). While the story does have its sexy jokes, teens who know more than adults and silly escapades, it manages some originality and some genuine laughs. It's cute how an innocent little trek into the city results in a long series of unbelievable and dangerous consequences--many of which are quite funny. Give it a try--it's not "rocket science" or Masterpiece Theatre, but it's good old fashioned silly fun.

PS--watch ALL the movie--including the very end. Many times on TV they cut off the very end, but on video or DVD it's there. So, DON'T turn it off when the credits roll.

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