I'm feeling a little better these last few days after an entire month of feeling like I was essentially dying. A horrible illness that ruined any interest in watching actual films and pushing me towards the easiest, most comfortable shoes I could find to watch. It has been a lot of fun watching through things I usually wouldn't, jumping back into anime, cartoons, and older sitcoms. But today I felt that film itch returning a little, but I knew I wanted to watch something from the 80s or 90s. I browsed through the library of Disney+ and found a film that had an interesting vintage looking poster, something you'd find in the 60s. It intrigued me, and what really sold it to me was the realisation that I don't think I had seen or even heard of the film before. I had a generalised idea of what to expect, some 80s family adventure title. After all, this is essentially what I was looking for.
Despite having some sort of idea of what I wanted to watch and what this might be like, I have to say I was quite surprised by it. It was a very fun film that displayed a much better time in Hollywood, when stories of such simplicity and originality could be made. I discovered shortly after watching it that Disney made a modern remake of the film just a few years ago, which I think sums up the very thing I'm talking about here. Adventures in Babysitting is a simple film, an adventurous one. A film in constant motion but not needing grand special effects or a huge budget. And it still remains incredibly fun. It's a story on the idea of youth, and the adventure that is to be found in the huge and seemingly terrifying broader world around us. I'm sure many of you may look back at a time in which the surroundings of your town or city felt like a cast wilderness, and now perhaps feels a lot smaller.
I think the film really captures that initial feeling as a child. The discovery of the world. The adventurous ambition one might have, the want to discover and rebel. And the lessons that come with being thrown into the world.
Adventures in Babysitting
Adventures in Babysitting loves the stereotype of the city. It toys with this stereotype throughout. That the suburbs are a place of peace and tranquility, and the city is a place riddled with insanity. Crime and dirt at every corner. Rarely a good person in sight in the free-for-all fast-paced nature of city life. Starting off, the film shows some young teens that are to have a babysitter look after them while the parents head into the city for a party, the babysitter is a mature, fairly good-looking girl that one of the children has a huge crush on. The other child is a small girl that loves the superhero Thor, spouting his winged helmet at all times. Despite being more mature and understanding, our babysitter arrives and sets up the night only to get a call from her friend that ran away from home, trapped in the middle of the city with no money and a whole lot of fear for her surroundings. This is where that stereotype of endless danger begins! Our babysitter promises to come and get her, to which the children follow.
This film is seemingly endless chaos. From this moment, it never feels like the pacing actually cools off. First the car tire bursts on the motorway into the city, and then the guy with the tow truck detours to his house after getting a call that his wife is cheating on him, to which guns are pulled out and fired all of the place. The car the children escape to is already in the process of being stolen, which then leads them to a garage owned by a mafia group that steals cars and handles other various illegal operations. The way this all spirals out of control is near instant. I quite liked how it did this, as each unexpected event is replaced with another that's far greater in seriousness and chaos.
But the film doesn't aim to cause fear or stress, it aims to cause laughs. And this comes from the ways in which it displays the crazy individuals of the city. Some of them go out of their way to help kids get from one place to another, while others display their weirdness and more selfish nature that stems from city life. This is all heavily exaggerated, which I think works very well when we consider that these teens are clearly from a good neighbourhood out in the suburbs. Completely pulled out of that cozy, quiet life and thrown into the gritty night life of the city. Take into consideration that it was the 80s, and some of that chaotic and gritty appeal of the city isn't actually too far from the truth.
These children don't really have any actual independence or real understanding of how the world really works. Their innocence results in them both getting into trouble and finding their way out of it. And this wouldn't be an 80s adventure film if they didn't have a musical segment in which the group sings on stage to an audience, as a result of stumbling into the stage at the worst time. But I think this sums up what sort of film this can be. The lighthearted aspects of it, the gritty and the dark exaggerated reality, but also the youthful joy that's generally accepting of all possibilities in the face of adventure. The young Elisabeth Shue drives the film forward as the babysitter Chris, with her performance as a generally good, mature-mannered teenager that can actually handle responsibility, but again has no real world experience.
And this is a theme that returns to us often throughout Adventures in Babysitting. The realisation of personal growth and the self-discovery that comes from life experiences. The teenager that knows nothing becomes more aware of how to act and what to expect from the world. Adapting and finding their weaknesses and skills through it. Whether it is the appreciation of friendship or the realisation to let loose a little more and be more accepting to trying different things. And this is a theme we see often in films by director Chris Columbus. Who you may recognise from films like Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, and the first two Harry Potter films. Each of those focus on the creative and energetic minds of the youth. But giving them a more mature understanding and showing what they're actually capable of with some independence.
I actually really enjoyed this film, even with a runtime of nearly two hours, you don't really notice it. There's so much going on as the tensions increase and their adventure gets even crazier. But it's all simple in the broader narrative sense. It's certainly exaggerated in how it portrays the people of the city, but it is grounded in how people interact with each other, how trust and friendships are formed. I definitely recommend watching it, it's a film from an era in which simple stories with plenty of fun could be made. And it'll absolutely show you an era so vastly different to the present. The 80s almost looks like a totally different planet at this point, and in some ways, it really was.
