August 28, 2007
THE NANNY DIARIES, RATED PG-13
DISTRIBUTED BY MGM
DIRECTED BY Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor)
STARRING Scarlett Johansson as Annie Braddock; Laura Linney as Mrs. X; Paul Giamatti as Mr. X; Nicholas Reese Art as Grayer X; Alicia Keys as Lynette; Chris Evans as Harvard Hottie; Donna Murphy as Judy Braddock
REVIEWED BY Bob Hoose, Unplugged
Excerpt of Unplugged Review: The Nanny Diaries is ostensibly about a young woman who takes an unexpected detour into an exotic, and sometimes bizarre, culture that’s only a few miles from her New Jersey home.
But the movie is also an amplified object lesson about man’s spiritual and emotional failures. (As lofty as that may sound.) It’s a well-made and creatively filmed look at people who chase after the elusive dreams of money and prestige, and somehow lose sight of everything else.
One particular scene hit me as an able example. In it, a group of society’s wealthiest mothers gather for a “nanny conflict” seminar. The women sit perfectly coiffed and designer-clad in one room while their nannies wrestle with the squealing kids next door. The meeting accomplishes nothing, but the attendees feel better about themselves for the effort.
At that “event,” a videotape of Annie is played. It seems the young nanny has found a hidden camera in her room and she’s giving Mrs. X a piece of her mind. The affluent assemblage is aghast at the young woman’s brazen behavior. But as Annie calms down and starts talking about the simple joys of caring for Grayer and the love she gets in return, things begin to change in the room.
Some of the women begin to quietly cry, and they recognize a mutual ache, an unfulfilled need. You can see them realize that something is direly wrong.
But the solution remains just outside their grasp.
And other than one woman’s recommitment to her son and another’s choice to follow a dream, there are no real solutions offered in The Nanny Diaries. We wade through the alcohol, language and examples of rotten behavior to find a “happy” ending. Marital reconciliation, spiritual redemption and emotional fulfillment are left for another day.
Click here to read rest of this excellent review of The Nanny Diaries.
Debbie says:
Sounds like a pretty dumb movie…did you see it, Suzie??
Debbie
Suzie Eller says:
I haven’t seen it. I’m due for a few movie and popcorn dates soon!
Debbie says:
I LOVE movies!
Debbie