Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Jonah Hill stars in The Sitter as Noah Griffith, a suspended college student, still living at home with his mother, and who has gotten into a fair share of trouble. As a favor to his mom, Noah agrees to babysit for their neighbor’s kids, Slater (Max Records), Blithe (Landry Bender), and Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez). When Noah’s girlfriend (Ari Graynor) calls to hook-up, he does what any logical sitter would do; he packs up the kids in the minivan and heads out to meet her.
The night turns into an unexpected adventure when while doing a small drug errand for his girlfriend gets him tangled up with a local druglord (Sam Rockwell). Noah and the kids find themselves mixed up in bar brawls, robberies, and having sporadic moments of truth and clarity about their lives throughout the night.
Directed by David Gordon Green, the DVD version of The Sitter “Totally Irresponsible” Edition includes not only the 81-minute theatrical version of the movie, but also the unrated version. The DVD also includes special features, such as the Gag Reel, Sits-N-Giggles, and Jonah the Producer.
The Gag Reel simply features outtakes from the movie where the cast breaks character or messes up a line during a scene. “Sits-N-Giggles” features outtakes from various scenes throughout the movie. Some of the best re-takes were of Hill and the kids in the car. What is great about this feature is that you get to see some pretty hilarious improvisation from the actors.
The final special feature, “Jonah the Producer,” features Hill hitting on the parents of the child actors in the movie, and sitting in as the on-set tutor with his underage costars. It would have been nice to have had a more in-depth look at what it was like being a producer on this movie was actually like, instead of him spoofing on what a kind of creepy producer might be like.
The Sitter does have some legitimately funny moments throughout the course of the movie. If you’re looking for an updated and raunchier take on 1987’s Adventures in Babysitting, then The Sitter “Totally Irresponsible” Edition is the DVD for you.
