Nanny Diaries: Ugh
Written: Aug 29 '07 (Updated Sep 01 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: None
Cons: Jerky camera, too different from literary source
The Bottom Line: There is a reason that this was abruptly pulled before its April release and pushed back to the end of August.
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| GravityGirl's Full Review: The Nanny Diaries |
As we usually do on Tuesdays, the baby and I ventured out to the local Cineplex to see a movie. This week, we got to see The Nanny Diaries.
This movie was supposed to come out in April. I know this because it was right before my due date, and I wanted to see it but I was afraid of going into labor in the middle. At the last moment, they pulled the film from its April release date and shuffled it over to August. Although I cannot admit to having any insider knowledge about the “biz”, it is my understanding that a last-minute shuffle tends to occur when dealing with a rotten egg.
The Nanny Diaries was a best-selling book in 2002. The book was witty and fun- an absolute delight. The movie, however, is a rotten egg.
Annie Braddock is a recent college grad who takes a job working for the X family, a strange clan who live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Annie comes from a working-class background, and is often overwhelmed by the X family. She is also lying to her mother, who thinks that Annie got a finance internship and has no idea about the nanny job.
Mrs. X has issues. Serious issues. Her biggest problem is Mr. X, who is a jerk. And a philanderer. Grayer X, age four, is cute and charming, but he has Serious Issues because he has been Raised By Nannies. Perhaps if his parents took a more active role in his life, then he would have had an easier time getting into private school. As it stands, Grayer is an angry little boy with attachment issues because his mother is constantly replacing his nannies. He slowly forms an attachment to Annie, and soon, the two are inseparable.
As the summer progresses, Annie/Nanny is subjected to all sorts of scrapes at the hands of her employers- she is forced to dress up in costume for an office Fourth of July party, she is relegated to a broom closet off of the kitchen, and much more. In one moment of poignancy, Annie is sent off on a playdate with a mother who has clearly relapsed. As Nanny and the mother’s minder watch helplessly, the mother, who is clearly high on something, frosts a cake with her son and Grayer, who are blissfully oblivious that something is amiss.
When she is not taking care of Grayer and putting up with Mrs. X, Annie finds time to kindle a romance with Harvard Hottie, who lives in the same building as the Xs.
The problem with the movie is that the movie relies heavily on the book, and instead of presenting a cohesive storyline, the plot unfolds in what seems like loosely connected vignettes. They almost make sense, but not really. There is something missing. I’m not quite sure what, but the flow of the movie is so severely disrupted that the movie goes by too quickly and drags painfully. I know it seems that a feat like this is impossible, but the editors have made what seems like an oxymoron a reality.
But seriously, much of the movie does not make sense if you have not read the book. For example, in one scene, Annie has trouble making the gourmet dish that Mrs. X requests that she make for Grayer’s dinner. In frustration, she grabs a jar of this Goober peanut butter/jelly and encourages Grayer to eat right out of the jar. But why is something like that even in the apartment? Even Grayer is taken aback at the thought of eating something that has “high fructose corn syrup”. This scene probably has its origins in a passing mention in the book to “junk food” that the parents keep in the house for when they actually have to feed the child themselves. Of course, when the nanny is on duty, she is expected to prepare gourmet macrobiotic fare. While the inclusion of the scene in the movie is funny, it does not make much sense.
Another issue with the movie is that it becomes much more about social class than the book did. In the book, the nanny character’s family came from the Upper East Side as well, and she was an alumna of Chapin, a private school that is just as prestigious as the schools that the Xs desperately want Grayer to get into. The focus on the book was on Nanny’s relationship with Grayer, and while Nanny’s family is not as affluent as the Xs, she is not as much an outsider as her movie equivalent. Annie is a fish out of water, and there are many “Yes, F. Scott, the rich *are* different” moments. This movie is about social class when it does not need to be. Mrs. X helps to remind us of this when she hisses at Annie that Harvard Hottie is “out of [Annie’s] league.
The ending is just ridiculous. I certainly don’t want to give anything away, so I am going to remain as vague as possible. The ending is too optimistic. Yes, it is not an unreasonable expectation for the characters to have learned something, but the ending is over the top in its presentation. It is also completely unrealistic. There is no possible way that the characters could have been so profoundly affected by the events that unfolded that they would change to the degree suggested by the movie. The movie would have probably earned another star if not for the ending.
And the cinematography is painful. I will give accolades for the attempt at creativity, but it did not work for me. The scenes in which the camera moves around quickly made me nauseous and it was just a little too much.
The acting is tolerable, but there are no real outstanding performances. Scarlett Johansson plays Nanny, Laura Linney plays Mrs. X, and Paul Giamatti plays Mr. X. I actually enjoyed Giamatti. He was not outstanding, but he brought a delightful (and appropriate) level of smarm.
I can’t recommend this movie. I especially do not recommend the movie if you have read the book. All the wit and humor has been sucked from the movie and the message has changed completely. I have consulted the movie schedule, and next week’s movie is the Mr. Bean picture. I have higher expectations for that than I do for this. Seriously- no joke. I suppose you could add this to your Netflix queue if you are hard up for movie suggestions, but it is really not worth it.
This is part of CopeSullivan’s Fifty Reviews By Halloween Write-Off.
Recommended:
No
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