RELEASED IN 1987 and directed by Chris Columbus, "Adventures in Babysitting" (aka "A Night on the Town") is a teen dramedy about 17 year-old babysitter, Chris (Elisabeth Shue), from the suburbs of Chicago who has no choice but to take the siblings she's babysitting (Keith Coogan & Maia Brewton) and their friend (Anthony Rapp) into the big city whereupon they have many misadventures. Penelope Ann Miller plays Chris' geeky friend (at the bus station), Calvin Levels a car thief, John Davis Chandler the main heavy and George Newbern a helpful college dude with eyes for Chris. I was surprised at how entertaining this movie is. It has the tone of an Indiana Jones flick, but with teen protagonists and taking place in a modern USA city. The Thor element was a unique surprise and the little girl is cute and spry. The protagonists are likable and you can sense the warmth in their relationships, e.g. Brad's infatuation with Chris. Unfortunately, the movie fumbles the ball on the female front a little bit. There are quality women in the cast, for sure, but the director never milks these resources for their worth (and I'm not tawkin' bout nudity or sleaze). Take Shue, for example (who was 21 during filming); she's dressed in a looong sweater or jacket that covers her figure the entire film. Compare this with her role in "The Karate Kid" (1984) where her beauty is well displayed and tastefully so. THE FILM RUNS 1 hour & 42 minutes and was shot in Toronto and the Chicago area. WRITER: David Simkins GRADE: B+/A-

(Flash Review)Only the 80's could bunch this many randomly associated scenes together to make an amusing cohesive movie. Shue plays a high school babysitter who sets out for a night of sitting for a little girl and an horny pre- teen boy that has the hots for her. Many awkward moments there. Shue's idiot friend has a major emergency and needs her help in the big city. Shue takes the kids on a trip to help her friend. Overblown 80's-style scenarios happen; many of which are only amusing in the 80's context thus are still charming and amusing. Will she be able to help her friend and get the kids back without raising suspicion? There are many memorable and tense scenes as well as a romantic plot point with a preppy upper class chap.

When she receives a frantic phone call from her friend who is stuck in downtown Chicago at night, suburban babysitter Chris (Elisabeth Shue) must head to the big city to help. But she can't leave the kids she's babysitting so she brings them along. The night becomes one big crazy experience for Chris and the kids. Classic '80s greatness here. You take a situation that, in reality, might wind up with a bunch of young people on the evening news as rape and/or murder victims and you turn it into an adventurous lark. Love the '80s!This is a highly entertaining movie. The characters are fun and well-written. The dialogue is great. It has the feel of a John Hughes movie. Elisabeth Shue is so good in this. It's impossible not to have a crush on her after watching this film. The kids are all good, with Maia Brewton stealing practically every scene she's in. Her love of Thor was a big kick to me as a kid since I was also a big fan of Thor and all the other kids I knew had no clue who he was. The scene where she meets "Thor" for real is one of the many highlights of this film for me. Just a great movie from a great decade. You should definitely check it out.

Adventures in Babysitting is one of those movies that all of the kids back in the day saw apart from me. No particular reason, I just never got around to it. With the new Blu-ray I figured now would be right time to catch up on what I missed.It's not a John Hughes movie, but it does have a similar aesthetic and is set in a cold, snowy Chicago (a common Hughes theme), and it's the director debut of Chris Columbus who worked with Hughes on the first two Home Alone movies. Babysitting is quite similar in that is has a bunch of kids/teens getting into all kinds of hi-jinks while evading and outsmarting crooked grown-ups.Elizabeth Shue plays Chris Parker (no relation to Jennifer Parker from BTTF) a girl who has been stood-up by her sleazeball boyfriend and ends up babysitting for a wealthy couple while they go hob-nobbing in the city. Though content to sit in the house all night she gets a frantic call from her friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) who is trapped in an inner city bus station and needs rescued. Multiple detours and deviations make the rescue no easy task. I guess in this sense the movie feels a little bit like Planes, Trains and Automobiles.It's all inoffensive and good-natured, though I was surprised to hear a couple of F-bombs in there, and some of the dialogue is a little raunchy. Babysitting is no classic, but has lasting appeal and is a fun ride. Michael Kamen also provides a score which sounds like a Die Hard prototype, lending a little more weight to the adventure than would be typical. Stay watching until after the credits for an extra scene.