If you have a cast which includes Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti, you ought to give them something better to work with than this botched adaptation.
The Nanny Diaries (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:124
Fresh:41
Rotten:83
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: The Nanny Diaries' miscast lead and unrealistic, one-dimensional characters make this class satire far less effective than it should've been.
Theatrical Release:12-10-2007
Synopsis: Loosely based on the bestselling roman à clef by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus, THE NANNY DIARIES is the story of Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson), a fresh-out-of-college Jersey girl who is... Loosely based on the bestselling roman à clef by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus, THE NANNY DIARIES is the story of Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson), a fresh-out-of-college Jersey girl who is uncertain of her future. Annie's mother (Donna Murphy) is pressuring her to take a job in business, but Annie has more interest in anthropology. After blowing her first interview with a New York financial firm, Annie heads to Central Park to mull over her options. As fate would have it, it's there that she meets Mrs. X (Laura Linney), a wealthy mother from the Upper East Side. Mrs. X happens to witness a warm interaction between Annie and her son Grayer (Nicholas Art), and mistakenly assumes Annie is a nanny. She immediately offers Annie a job, and despite the warnings of her best friend, Linette (Alicia Keys), Annie takes it. She decides to approach the job like an anthropologist in the field, and she is alternately fascinated and appalled by her observations. Despite their luxurious lifestyle, the Xs are revealed to be a truly dysfunctional mess. Annie quickly learns that money might indeed buy you a house on Nantucket, but it certainly can't buy you an honest husband or the affection of your son. Linney is excellent as the ice-cold Mrs. X, and Paul Giamatti delivers a perfectly smarmy performance as the philandering Mr. X. The film has a great time poking fun at the absurdity and hypocrisy of Manhattan's upper-crust, and it's at its funniest when relying on the sharp observations of its source material. It's surprisingly fanciful in places, with quick nods to MARY POPPINS and its very amusing use of the Natural History Museum. A sort of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA with a fantastical edge, THE NANNY DIARIES is a satisfying slice of cinematic schadenfreude. [More]
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti, Alicia Keys
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti, Alicia Keys, Donna Murphy, Chris Evans, Nicholas Reese Art, Judith Roberts, Nathan Corddry, Brande Roderick
Director: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Director: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Screenwriter: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Producer: Richard N. Gladstein
Composer: Mark Suozzo
Studio: Weinstein Company
Reviews for The Nanny Diaries
But satire and emotional drama do not mix. When we giggle at the selfish enormities of this family’s lifestyle, we cannot be expected to weep for Johansson’s lonely hearted childminder.
This is supposed to be satire. But it is satire that behaves so predictably it isn’t worth studying.
If Sofia Coppola were given a lobotomy and asked to remake The Devil Wears Prada for the au pair profession, she might have produced something like this horribly pleased-with-itself childcare comedy.
Despite that frequently saccharine tone, It’s worth catching for Linney’s ice-cold performance and a wonderfully snakey Giamatti.
Berman and Pulcini's comedy drama isn't as funny or as clever as it thinks it is, but it remains watchable thanks to strong performances from Laura Linney and Scarlett Johansson.
Like The Devil Wears Prada, this film's kicks come from watching the foibles and quirks of the uber-rich through an outsider's eyes, but the genuine sadness on display in the Nanny Diaries saves this film from being just a Prada knock-off.
Johansson is no Anne Hathaway in this pleasant but forgettable comedy.
The conclusion is desperately trite, but Linney’s performance helps this comedy – based on a novel by two nannies, take note – feel like a credible peek behind very expensive curtains.
It's the sharp acting that almost makes us forget the over-familiar storyline.
For viewers who thought The Devil Wears Prada was way too hard-hitting
Stalled out in mediocre-land, and choices like the narration, the overbearingly cutesy art direction and costume design, and even preserving the convention of calling them Mr. and Mrs. X pulled you out of the story and dragged it down.
Here's hoping that the very talented [Shari] Springer [Berman] and [Robert] Pulcini get a crack at a script that's worthy of their talents for their third time at bat.
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