The Bottom Line
The life of being a nanny can be rewarding, as evidenced by numerous testimonials by current and former nannies to this About.com Childcare site. But, as portrayed in this best-seller book-turned-movie, it can also be degrading and depressing. This often slow-moving and somewhat a downer of a movie does offer basic life lessons such as money does not buy happiness and that parents should take the time to truly enjoy and actually raise their child ... after all, they won't be young for very long. Those messages alone make the movie worth seeing, if not in the theatre then certainly with home rental in future.
Pros
- Movie runs pretty true to book
- Scarlett Johansson does good job convincing viewers of her life and career dilemmas
- It's easy to eventually fall in love with young boy in Annie's charge
- Movie portrays the "ultra-rich does not mean ultra-happy" theme convincingly
Cons
- Nannies are all portrayed as hating their jobs and the people in their care
- Movie gets downright depressing
Description
- Symbolism runs deep, even featuring a Mary Poppins-like umbrella that takes Annie to places.
- Characters are often over-simplified and stereotyped. Not every New York family is wealthy AND desperately unhappy ... right?
- The budding romance between Annie and Harvard Hottie seems unconvincing, yet viewers cheer for the unlikely pair.
- Annie's nurse mom puts a lot of pressure on Annie, setting up the career dilemma and lies.
- Be sure to watch what happens with the hidden nannycam! It's good for a laugh, and sends a strong message as well!
Guide Review - The Nanny Diaries Movie Review
The movie features new college graduate Annie Braddock (played convincingly by Scarlett Johansson), who struggles to understand who she is and what her place should be in the world. With that premise in mind, the movie's setting is from Annie's field diary's perspective of her entry (by accident) in the upper-crust society of Manhattan's East Side in the role of a nanny. The naive Annie endures the commands of Mrs. X while avoiding the always-on-the-prowl Mr. X, all the while falling in love with a precocious young son Grayer, who she endearingly calls Grover. The journey ends with Annie choosing her path in life, or at least her next step, as well as finding potential love with a boyfriend referenced as Harvard Hottie.
