Based on the best-selling book of the same name, the film version ofThe Nanny Diariesis a cute chick flick, but it lacks the witty tone of the novel, which took time to flesh out the characters. The tone is set early on when the narrator notes, "In Africa they have the saying: 'It takes a village to raise a child.' But for the tribe of the Upper Eastside of Manhattan, it takes just one person: the nanny." Recent college graduate Annie Braddock (a brunette Scarlett Johansson) becomes the nanny for Mr. and Mrs. X, a narcissistic and selfish couple who have no clue that what their precocious son Grayer really needs is a mom and a dad who will pay attention to him. At first, Annie can't believe her good fortune. Caring for Grayer a few hours each day in the X's luxurious apartment seems like a dream job. But as her job turns into a 24/7 nightmare, she loses her identity and becomes Nanny. Annie's attempts to befriend her oddly charismatic boss are met with rebuffs by Mrs. X (Laura Linney). When Annie mentions her home life, Mrs. X is stunned. "Nanny, you never mentioned you had a mother," she says, as if she expected that nannies were shot out of giant pods. Despite the film's flaws, Linney is a standout. Like Meryl Streep, who made an unlikeable character sympathetic inThe Devils Wears Prada, Linney brings humor to her role. Unfortunately, Paul Giamatti (as the philandering Mr. X) and singer Alicia Keys (as Annie's best friend Lynette) are wasted in their thankless roles. While we are meant to feel sorry for Annie, we are left wondering why a beautiful and educated young American woman would allow herself to be manipulated into working ridiculous hours for less than minimum-wage pay. When Annie finally does stand up to her employers, it's a little too late. For everyone.--Jae-Ha Kim
I preferred the book on CD I really wanted to like this movie. It has great actresses and a wonderful premise, but I just did not like it. The characters in the movie are so overdone and pushed too far into the satirical message so quickly that they just come across as annoying. Also,the acting was not as strong as it could have been. The Basics: Annie is a recent college graduate who incidentally becomes a nanny for the X's, a wealthy New York family. Annie lies to her mother and searches hopelessly for her identity while taking care of her charge. The movie addresses the lack of parental involvement in households where nannies end up raising the children. In the end Nanny finds herself once she is forced to leave her job as the Nanny. I preferred the book on CD read by Julia Roberts.
A sweet movie with a message "The Nanny Diaries" is an adorable film about a recent college graduate who doesn't really know who she is except she needs to get a job and move away from home. A chance meeting in the park draws her into a ridiculously rich and equally unhappy family whose pre-school aged son is in need of a caregiver. Scarlett Johansson is "Annie the Nanny" in this bittersweet film of the conflict between superficiality and genuine love. Laura Linney brilliantly portrays the uptight, uptown Mom, Mrs. X (yes, even her name is uptight!), in need of some lessons in loving her child. Chris Evans is Annie's handsome love interest in the apartment building where she works. Alicia Keys stars as Annie's best friend. This is truly a feel good movie.A strong message in an average film First, this is a good movie, not a great movie. The overall story is a bit choppy and while I am always a fan of Scarlette Johansson, this is not one of her best performances. That said, the overall message is a very powerful and important one, and for that I walked away glad to have spent the time watching this.
The basic story is about a young woman who goes to New York in search of a dream job and ends up being a nanny to a young boy whose rich parents are too busy to help raise him. The real center of this story is the dysfunction between the parents, and their ego-centric lifestyles that are more about themselves than their child. Laura Linney is great in the role of the mother!
The movie ends with a couple of very powerful scenes about what to truly value in life, and if you are a parent of young children it is a message that will resonate and make you stop and think about where you place your priorities. Any movie that can make you think at that level is worth watching. Sure, the movie critics will say this is a rather poor film, but they are missing the point.
