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The Babysitter (1995 film)

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The Babysitter
Promotional poster
Directed byGuy Ferland
Written byGuy Ferland
Based onThe short story
by Robert Coover
Produced byKevin Messick
Steve Perry
StarringAlicia Silverstone
Jeremy London
J. T. Walsh
Lee Garlington
Nicky Katt
Lois Chiles
George Segal
CinematographyRick Bota
Edited byJim Prior
Victoria T. Thompson
Music byLoek Dikker
Production
company
Spelling Films International
Distributed bySpelling Entertainment
Republic Home Video
Release date
  • October 17, 1995 (1995-10-17)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Babysitter is a 1995 American psychological thriller film directed by Guy Ferland and starring Alicia Silverstone, based on the short story of the same name by Robert Coover[1] in his collection Pricksongs and Descants (1969). The film was released direct-to-video in October 1995.

Plot

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Jennifer is a beautiful teenager who is hired to babysit the children of Harry Tucker and his wife, Dolly Tucker, while they attend a party hosted by their friends, Bill Holsten and his wife, Bernice Holsten. Harry often fantasizes about Jennifer, while Dolly misinterprets Bill's compliments as a sign of attraction and fantasizes about him. Meanwhile, Jennifer's ex-boyfriend Jack, with whom she broke up when he started pressuring Jennifer for sex, runs into his estranged troublemaking friend Mark, Bill and Bernice's son, who once had a fling with Jennifer and still harbors feelings for her. Throughout the night, Harry, Jack and Mark have increasingly racy fantasies about Jennifer.

Jack calls Jennifer and asks to visit her at the Tuckers' residence, but she refuses. Mark later steals beer from Bill's party, where they run into Harry, who becomes fixated on the notion Jack might go to his house to have sex with Jennifer. Jack and Mark get increasingly drunk and show up uninvited to see Jennifer, but she refuses to let them in. They then spend the rest of the night stalking around the house and spying on her through the window. Meanwhile, Harry gets drunk and falls asleep in his car, where he has a nightmare of Jennifer and Jack having sex, which drives him to rush home and confront them. In his absence, Dolly makes a pass at Bill, who rejects her, but agrees to keep her secret and offers to drive her home.

At the Tuckers' residence, Jack and Mark force their way in while Jennifer is taking a bath and, after a tense argument, Mark knocks Jack unconscious and attempts to rape Jennifer, who runs out of the house. Mark pursues her and ends up being fatally run over by Harry, who is arrested for drunk driving just as Bill and Dolly arrive and hear about the accident. Before being escorted home, Jennifer tries to shut the car door before being stopped by Jack, and then she asks him, "What were you thinking?" before leaving an ashamed and guilt-stricken Jack behind.

Cast

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Reception

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The Babysitter received negative reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 17% based on reviews from 6 critics.[2] Leonard Maltin gave the film two stars.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Maslin, Janet (November 15, 1995). "FILM REVIEW;Watching Who's Watching Children". The New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  2. ^ "The Babysitter (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Maltin, Leonard (2012). Leonard Maltin's 2013 Movie Guide: The Modern Era. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9781101604632.[page needed]
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