Adventures in Babysitting (PG-13)

Sitter's misadventures are mostly light fun.

(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)

Common Sense rates it
3
Seen the movie? Review it
7570_orig.jpg
Movie details
  • Studio: Disney
  • Directed By: Chris Columbus
  • Cast: Penelope Ann Miller, Elisabeth Shue, Anthony Rapp
  • Running Time: 102 minutes
  • Release Date: 07/01/1987
  • Video/DVD Release Date: 01/18/2000
  • Genre: Comedy
  • MPAA Rating: PG-13

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this movie does include some violent scenes, but they're mostly fodder for jokes that center on the vivid imaginations of kids from the 'burbs. A "stab wound" results in just one stitch; criminals chase the kids through the city, but not for the sinister reason they think. You'll also find some guns, fistfights, and one scary moment where a little girl tries to escape a high-rise building by climbing out a window. The movie is also a little racy, with talk of Playboy magazine and a surprising number of sexual innuendos.

Families can talk about whether Chris made the right decision by taking the children into the city. What could she have done differently when her friend calls her from the bus station? What would have been the sensible, "grown-up" thing to do?

Message

Social Behavior:

Overall, the movie's teens and children are portrayed as good, although a babysitter demonstrates rather poor judgment by taking kids into the city. A teen boy repeatedly makes sex jokes; he and a friend also look at a Playboy magazine. Some adult characters are involved in criminal activities, such as car theft. A little girl wanders away in the city and narrowly escapes danger.

Consumerism:

Visible products include Cap'n Crunch cereal, a Coke machine, and a Nestlé Crunch chocolate bar. References are also made to Häagen-Dazs and Clearasil.

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Adult characters drink cocktails at a swanky party. College students are shown drinking alcohol and playing drinking games at a frat party.

Violence

Jokes center on the vivid imaginations of kids from the 'burbs. A "stab wound" results in just one stitch; criminals chase the kids through the city, but not for the sinister reason they think. The babysitter's scary story about a murderer with a hook for a hand makes the kids scared stiff of a tow truck driver they meet with a hook for a hand -- he does pull a shot gun, but on his wife's lover as he runs from his house. Men punch each other in various fistfights. A little girl tries to escape a high-rise building by climbing out a window. A man reveals a gun under his coat to a teen girl.

Sex

Some kissing, including a teen boy and an older college girl making out at a party. A running gag involves a female character's resemblance to a Playboy centerfold. An exchange between a hot dog vendor and his customer is played for laughs, with the word "wiener" having a sexual connotation. A prostitute propositions a teen boy. A drunk college girl asks a teen boy, "Wanna go to bed?"

Language

Some profanity, such as "f--k," "s--t" "son of a bitch," "goddamn," and "Jesus." A teenage boy refers to a comic book superhero as a "homo."

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Teresa Talerico

ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING gets rolling when suburban high school senior Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) takes a last-minute babysitting gig. Shortly after the parents leave, Chris gets a frantic call from her best friend, who is stuck at the bus station with no money. Chris loads her young charges into her station wagon and heads for the big city. They quickly get into in one scrape after another, starting with a tire blowout that leaves them stranded on a busy freeway. By the time the car is fixed, they have been held hostage in a chop shop, performed onstage at a blues bar, been pursued by criminals, and narrowly escaped street gangs on the subway. Although they seem to be magnets for mishaps, Chris and the kids manage to keep outwitting the bad guys -- with a little help along the way.

Is it any good?

3
As perky as its heroine, ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING is a madcap dash through the mean streets of Chicago. This frothy, utterly '80s comedy manages to remain light-hearted and breezy despite several potentially dangerous situations that the main characters face.

Shue is especially fun to watch, and the film features a number of other actors who went on to bigger and better things, including Penelope Ann Miller, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lolita Davidovitch, The West Wing's Bradley Whitford, and red-haired Anthony Rapp of the Broadway and screen versions of Rent.

Other choices

Home Alone

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Ferris Bueller's Day Off

The Blues Brothers
Support Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is a non-profit and will receive a portion of your purchase from Pricegrabber. Learn more.

Parents and kids say

All Reviews

There are 2 reviews.

1


Posted on 04/03/08 by bobsax Adult contributor

Really bad Language and sexual themes

The TV version of this is fine to watch with kids as young as 8. I wish that version was available on DVD For some reason movies of this era thought it necessary to include profanity and this one will teach your little ones all the worst ones. I was really shocked and embarrassed when I watched this with my 7 year-old. By the way at the time there was no review on CSM.
3


Posted on 11/14/07 by Chrissy 505 Kid contributor, age 11

cool as ice

i haven't watched thi movie for 2 years but i still remember how laugh out loud funny it was and I also remember how confused I was since i was only 9 at the time

Adult Reviews

There are 1 reviews.

1


Posted on 04/03/08 by bobsax Adult contributor

Really bad Language and sexual themes

The TV version of this is fine to watch with kids as young as 8. I wish that version was available on DVD For some reason movies of this era thought it necessary to include profanity and this one will teach your little ones all the worst ones. I was really shocked and embarrassed when I watched this with my 7 year-old. By the way at the time there was no review on CSM.

Kids Reviews

There are 1 reviews.

3


Posted on 11/14/07 by Chrissy 505 Kid contributor, age 11

cool as ice

i haven't watched thi movie for 2 years but i still remember how laugh out loud funny it was and I also remember how confused I was since i was only 9 at the time
Review It
What do your kids do online?
Surf
40%
Homework and research
15%
Download music
6%
Chat with friends
40%
53 votes