Well, this is such an underrated movie. I finally saw it for the first time the other day, mainly because I had read so many bad reviews of it. I like to make up my own mind, you should too. I'm really trying to see the point of view of the critics of this movie, and I concede, the overall film quality looks like it's lacking in budget, I don't think that detracts, but really I have to conclude that they didn't like it because they didn't understand it. But enough, on with the review.
Alicia Silverstone plays 'The Babysitter', looking after the Tucker's kids while they go out to a cocktail party. Also involved are her boyfriend Jack(Jeremy London) and his manipulative ex-friend Mark(Nikky Katt). Now the point is this, the babysitter (her name is actually Jennifer) is the focus of sexual fantasies by all the males in the film, they dehumanise her and imagine her as a willing participant, whereas in reality she gives them no indication of this. As the situation escalates through drink and bravado, these fantacies start to boil over into reality and finally lead to a climax where Mark is killed by a drink driving Harry Tucker. The situation is a questionable 'was it her fault?' and depending on your own mentality I'm sure you could think that it was. I say absolutley not, but this is the beauty of this movie, the voyeristic way that it is filmed, the way that it invites us into all these fantasies, shows us a mirror to attitudes. All the way through, she is only refered to as 'the babysitter'or 'that girl' or 'your girlfriend', never by her name. Did you even notice? The irony of her repeated question--What were you thinking?-- Is that we know exactly what they were thinking, but what were we thinking? That slut? Poor girl? Show some more flesh, Alicia? The real question is, who do you identify with? The babysitter, the men, or Mrs Tucker?
I really think that this is almost a personality test. Whether you like this movie, and essentially, like Alicia in it, depends on who you are. I think that is a huge risk for any film-maker to take.
As for Alicia, as the focus of the film, I think that she was great. She wasn't really stretching herself, but this was an early movie and I still haven't seen her struggle with a part. Still she does what she does with great ease, and always with nuances and a subtlety that I really admire.
My Rating: ****
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