It isn’t long after the titular babysitter (Alicia Silverstone) arrives at the home of the Tucker family that things go awry. Dad (J.T. Walsh) ogles her the moment she passes the threshold. Mom (Lee Garlington) shows her dissatisfaction with both her marriage and family, as the kids tease one another across the dinner table. Elsewhere, Mark (Nicky Katt) devises how he’s going to make this Friday night a little more memorable, and he plans on taking the babysitter’s boyfriend (Jeremy London) along for the ride.
THE BABYSITTER is another failure that never developed a cult following in the years since its release, but it has remained one of my favorite Alicia Silverstone movies. With an ensemble of complex characters (and starring veteran actors George Segal, Lois Chiles, and including a cameo by A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4’s Tuesday Knight), it’s an intricate story which often blurs the line between fantasy and reality, and shows just how far some are willing to go to find happiness, what ever their definition of the word may be.
