The Sitter (2011)

 The Sitter 

Starring- Jonah Hill and Method Man 

Directed by- David Gordon Green

Rating out of 10- 5/10

It was a wet, bleak Friday evening in the North West of England and I needed an easy film to raise my spirits. I picked The Sitter. Did I expect much? No. But I got more than I expected. Is it any good? No, but again I got more than I expected. 

Noah Griffin (Hill) is a college student on suspension and is coaxed by his mum to babysit the kids next door. However he is completely unprepared for what awaits him. 

The main premise is that the push over college kid, constantly in trouble- a disappointment to his parents, but looking after (in the loosest sense of the word) finally comes of age and pulls himself together. This is achieved by looking after the three troubled children from next door and dealing with the capers they go through. 

The film is pretty funny in parts mainly due to Jonah Hill’s confident humour. I thought the teenage boy character, Slater, played by Max Records was a good one. He is unsure of himself and his place in the world and Noah helps him to find it. 

On the downside, the criminals in the film are frankly not believable as crooks and Jonah Hill’s life affirming speeches to the kids don’t really fit with the character and felt shoe horned in. The idea of taking kids out at night when you’re babysitting is frankly delusional. 

Would I recommend this film? It’s a light hearted film that is largely harmless. But this format has been done hundreds of times now.