Iffy for 16+
Hard-R misadventures are crazy and crass but still funny.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that while this "babysitter gone wild" comedy may target teens -- especially those who are already Jonah Hill fans -- it has so many hard-R references to sex, drugs, and violence that it's not age appropriate for young teens. There's near-constant use of expletives (from the ubiquitous "motherf--ker" to "bitch" and everything in between), jokes about sex, a guy-on-girl oral sex scene, overt cocaine buying and use, references to a young teen's homosexuality, and plenty of sketchy and/or criminal behavior. Adoptive families may not appreciate the way the subject of adoption is depicted. It's all intended for laughs (what kind of college-aged student would really take three kids to a drug dealer's lair?), but that doesn't mean it's OK for younger viewers, so be prepared to stick to your guns if you have tweens and young teens who want to see it.
- Families can talk about whether The Sitter is intended to have positive take-aways, or if it's just meant to be funny. Does learning life lessons justify the craziness?
- Bullying is mentioned as a part of both Noah's background and Slater's future. Teens: What's the best way to handle bullying?
- What's the appeal of "raunchy" comedies? Do they cross the line? Who determines where that line falls?
The good stuff
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Messages: Despite the raunchy stuff and general craziness, there are a few positive messages in the movie: the oldest son learns to accept who he is, the adopted son realizes he doesn't have to be confrontational just to get a rise out of his new family, and the daughter sees that she doesn't need to act like a reality star (make-up, singing, provocative dancing) to be likable. Even Noah realizes that he deserves to be with someone who likes him back and doesn't take him for granted.
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Role models: There are basically no positive role models except for Roxanne, who offers to help Noah even though he's done nothing to deserve her compassion and consideration. Noah's mom is also kind and thinks the best of her slacker son, but she's barely in the movie.
What to watch for
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Violence: Rodrigo likes to put cherry bombs in toilets, which blow up in a restaurant, a jewelry store, and then in a car, causing the driver's crotch to catch on fire. The drug dealer's goons chase after Noah and the kids, causing a car accident. Noah accepts a sucker punch to the face to give him street cred and later gets into a fight with a kickboxer who beats him up until the kids come to the rescue. The drug dealer wields a gun. There's a scene in which a character is beaten by a gang of angry onlookers.
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Sex: Although there's no nudity, the movie begins with a scene of a clothed guy performing simulated oral sex on a mostly dressed girl. He then tries to get her to reciprocate, but she refuses. Later she offers to have sex if he does her a favor. Also lots of conversations about sex, pornography, adulterous sexual relationships between babysitters and their employers, and genitalia. A young girl sings the lyrics to bawdy rap songs and calls things and people "hot."
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Language: Virtually constant swearing, even in front of (or by!) the three kids, includes expletives such as "f--k," "motherf--ker," "d--k," "p---y," "t-ts," "s--t," "a--hole," "bitch," "hell," "damn," "goddamn," and more. Spanish curse words are also included via young Rodrigo: "puta," "pendejo," "carajo," "púdrete," etc.
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Consumerism: Featured brands and products include Mercedes, Honda Odyssey, Apple computer, iPod.
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: A major subplot involves Noah buying some cocaine from an eccentric drug dealer who snorts it and offers some to him. Noah's pseudo-girlfriend is drunk at a party and asks him to buy her the cocaine. Adults at a few different venues -- a bat mitzvah, a pool hall, the drug dealer's place, a house party -- drink alcohol.
Fan Reviews provided by
5
Big laughs from the beginning to the end... by musiclw
Film turned out to be HILARIOUS! We laughed from the start of the film to the end.
The children in the film were terrific little actors. Each child did an amazing job of capturing their character's unique personality.
1
A Crude And Inappropriate Use Of Young Children. by Alon Patterson
I see hundreds of movies a year in theaters all around the world. It's what I do. Lately there seems to be a disturbing new trend in the use of underage talent in totally inappropriate situations. Once, child participation in "adult focused" film was confined to smutty language and the occasional innuendo. Recently, it seems that practice has been taken to a whole new level as children are not only appearing films with arguably questionable subject matter but also being used in increasingly inappropriate ways. No film to date demonstrates the need for more oversight than this crass attempt at humor. 'Vile' plays as funny to some but to me, I'd just as soon not hear (11) year old girls dropping the "F" bomb, even if their squeaky voices are cute. Drugs, sex, language, violence, all have their place in entertainment culture. Unfortunately, that place should NOT be occupied by children employed to use vulgarity as humor. Skip this trash. It's funny but wrong. See something else.
4
Funny by blewin
The movie was funny, but not non stop funny. I definitely laughed a lot. Jonah Hill is awesome. If you like him and his other movies you definitely like this one.
4
The Sitter is a Winner by jtolliv1
Although it could be a little formulaic with the everything seems to go wrong only to end up ok in the end scenario, the stuff that goes down is hilarious. From Jonah Hill getting knocked out by a chick, to Blithe being completely crazy, to Sam Rockwell's drug warehouse full of body builders, you're sure to get in tons of laughs. The kids are awesome, Jonah Hill did his thing, and a little JB Smoove and Method man doesn't hurt at all.
3
The Sitter by hape2cuagain
The Sitter was okay... It did not put me to sleep... I liked the kids in the movie and how The Sitter gave them self-esteem... My fourteen year old son enjoyed it a lot and promised me that he would not do drugs after seeing this movie... I guess going to see it with him was worth it to get a promise out of him like that:)
3
The Sitter by Go_2thematresses01
My wife and I enjoyed the movie, however, we agreed to call this one done in the " safe zone " for Jonah. Granted, the man rocks when it comes to his comedic roles, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Overall, it's a movie I would recommend to friend's.
4
The Sitter by NYJDMR
I felt the movie sort of took off after the role Jonah Hill played in "Super Bad" pretty much the same type of jokes here. There were a lot of events going on which as a movie going person does keep you going. It was a lot though many story archs think "Scott Pilgrim" in that respect.
However it kept it funny and if you are going out on a date and you really do not want to pay attention to the dialogue anyway for the most part so you can talk about it later etc. This movie has many quotable moments in which to do that and bond over the movie experience later.
If I had to put a movie critic hat on. I would say it could have been more concrete throughout but you dont really expect that from a COMEDY! So enjoy laugh it up and dont be shy to laugh out loud!
4
Ignore the ignorant reviews by jawkneeboy
The movie was funny -- not always funny -- but always engaging -- you're always wondering what's going to happen next. The kids in the movie were hilarious -- they did a great job helping Jonah with the comedy. It did feel that they were trying to go for several types of films in the movie and just jumbled them all in there, but overall, it was an enjoyable movie. It wasn't the most hilarious but still good enough to say you got your money's worth. Go for it.
5
GET A SITTER FOR YOUR KIDDOS!! by domcat1
VERY FUNNY. WOULD HAVE BEEN OK FOR THE OLDER KIDS MINUS JUST A FEW SCENES, BUT THEY ARE THERE, SO DON'T WATCH IT WITH ANYONE YOU MIGHT FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH... NOT A FIRST DATE MOVIE!!!!!!! AS ALWAYS JONAH IS GREAT,,