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>> The Sitter (2011)

Submitted by Matt Rodriguez on Thursday, December 8, 2011 - 12:29PM

Title: The Sitter

Genre: Comedy

Starring: Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, Max Records, Sam Rockwell, Landry Bender, Kevin Hernandez

Director: David Gordon Green

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Runtime: 81 minutes

In Theatres: December 9, 2011

MPAA Rating: R

Rating: 2.00 (out of 4.00)

Grade: C

Official Site

Babysitting can either be a walk in the park where the children you’re looking after are complete angels, or they can be the hellspawn of Satan himself and make the job a living nightmare. For Noah (Jonah Hill), it’s the later, although he isn’t much better than the children himself. After getting kicked out of college, Noah has spent most of his days at home doing nothing. When the babysitter for his mom’s friend falls through, it’s up to Noah to step in and become an adult. The thing is he doesn’t want to be around kids as much as they don’t want to be around him.

Noah is tasked with watching three kids; there’s the uptight and studious Slater (Max Records), the attention seeking pretty girl Blithe (Landry Bender), and the gangster Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez). Rather than stay at home and watch TV or play games like any normal babysitter would do, the four of them venture into the night to pick up some drugs and get Noah to a party so he can get laid by his advantage-taking girlfriend.

The Sitter is your typical comedy from David Gordon Green, whose work includes Pineapple Express and Your Highness. Naturally, the events of the night don’t go as smoothly as planned as Noah finds himself in deep with a drug dealer who’s looking for more than just a friend and must find a way to get $10,000 by the night’s end. Let’s not forget the fact that he has three kids in the back of a minivan who are nothing but trouble.

Slater is constantly complaining about his “condition” and how he can’t go anywhere without his pills. Blithe, who’s around 7 years old, constantly acts like she’s 17 and only cares about makeup, dancing, and what’s considered cool. Then there’s Rodrigo. Nothing really needs to be said about Rodrigo. He’s just a whole other kind of hellraiser.

There’s nothing particularly special about The Sitter. There are moments where you’ll find yourself laughing, particularly when Jonah Hill is trying to act all gangsta, but for the most part it’s just your average comedy. The kids themselves are pretty cute, despite their horrible nature. The Sitter attempts to give itself deeper meaning by bring up current events like bullying, foster care, and image but it’s ends up a shallow attempt at reaching the audience.

There are plenty of raunchy comedies, some successful and some not, that have been released in 2011. The Sitter is entertaining and will provide a few good laughs, but does little else. In a year with films like Bridesmaids and Horrible Bosses, The Sitter only manages to come off as mediocre.

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