The Sitter





Directed By: David Gordon Green

Starring: Jonah Hill, Ari Graynor, and Max Records

Whether a comedian or action star, most male actors have had low points in their careers where they end up babysitting on the big screen.  The Pacifier, Daddy Day Care, and Kindergarten Cop all epitomize these low points.  In his latest film The Sitter, Jonah Hill decides to join the club and go down this same sad path as many actors before him have gone. 

Noah (Jonah Hill) was suspended from college after his freshman year and now lives with his mother (Jessica Hecht).  To do his mother a favor so she can get some action, he babysits for her friends Mr. and Mrs. Pedulla (D.W. Moffett and Erin Daniels).  They have three children.  Slater (Max Records) is a quiet, nerdy loner whose parents keep him heavily drugged.  Blithe (Landry Bender) is a happy curious girl who loves to spray perfume in Jonah's mouth.  Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez) is an adopted kid who likes to blow toilets up with cherry bombs.  This all makes for a rather unique babysitting experience.  When his girlfriend Marisa (Ari Graynor) calls and asks him to pick up some coke for this party she's attending and promises him some action, Noah decides to go out and take the kids with him on a wild ride.

David Gordon Green's The Sitter is a worthless attempt at a raucous slapstick comedy.  I cracked a couple of smiles during the flick but never really laughed.  The problem is that the film underutilizes the comedic talents of Jonah Hill and overuses the child actors in wild and crazy stuff.  After Bobb'e J. Thompson's hilarious performance as Ronnie in the 2008 movie Role Models, it's become more acceptable for some reason to have kids dropping four letter words and doing some damn crazy stuff.  This was cool the first time around, but it gets old.  In trying to make the kids' version of The Hangover, Green is using a tired formula.

Given that the film doesn't even make the hour and a half mark, it's not really worth the price of admission.  It's barely longer than a television episode on HBO or Showtime.  If you're going to waste your time on The Sitter, have a few whiskey sours.  The Sitter gets a 0.09% rating.