THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB (PG)
Directed by Melanie Mayron Running Time: 92 minutes Originally Released: August 18, 1995
Reviewed by E. Benjamin Kelsey
* * 1/2 (out of four)
THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB is actually quite a rare gem in today's world of movies, particulary those movies aimed at pre-teens. It's nothing spectacular, but it is a pleasant film that deserves the PG less than many Disney films. It's a movie about friendship and honesty, and it's presented with a lot more class than we're used to seeing, however cornballish it may come off at first.
THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB is about a group of seven baby-sitters (imagine that!) and the summer day camp they start with the hopes of bringing in a little extra cash. This particular aspect of the plot is merely the glue to hold the film together as we explore a more crucial element: Kristy (Schuyler Fisk), the founder of the BSC, has seemed a little distant and nobody in the club, save it be Kristy's best friend Mary Anne (Rachael Leigh Cook), knows why. The audience knows that it's because her biological father has come back into her life after a six-year dry spell, but to everybody else, she's just become irresponsible and distant. You see, Kristy's father has asked her not to let anyone know he's in town.
There are a few subplots, the most apparent involving 13-year old Stacey (Bre Blair), whose involved with 17-year old Luca (Christian Oliver) . . . and Luca has no idea she's not at least "almost sixteen". Then there's Claudia (Tricia Joe) who will be forced to quit the club should she fail science class. A lot of characters are kind of lost in the shuffle. The only character we REALLY get to know is Kristy. As can be somewhat expected from a film carried by young actors, it can be a little hokey, but it's sweetly so and not to be discounted.
THE BABY-SITTERS club is no masterpiece, and the character development needed just a little more to it, but I think the word that sums it up nicely would be "delightful". It's the kind of movie that doesn't hit high marks, but when it's thru, you just might find a nice little smile on your face. I did :-)
November 22, 1997
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