What's with the surge of ‘Diary' flicks? When did everyone in the world start publishing their diaries and why the hell are we all supposed to be interested in each and every one of them. Damn you Bridget Jones. Your diary wasn't all that entertaining and yet you've become a formulaic genre-starter that femme flicks can't seem to milk to exhaustion. Princess Diaries. Bridget Jones 2? Princess Diaries 2?!? Diary of a Mad Black Woman (granted - it's kind of in a different category - but it fits the topic)?!?! Sure there have been diaries that debuted with less chick-flickish themes (Motorcycle Diaries and Basketball Diaries...Diary of Anne Frank) but my point remains. Nanny Diaries, in principle, offers nothing new to the world of cinema. It probably never intended to do so. It counted squarely on the notion that movies with "Diary" in the title do damned well with the female crowds. Let's jump on that wagon.
And jump on it does. Nanny Diaries really offers nothing truly unique to set it apart from its counterparts. No truly mind blowing plots. No significant twists. No great performances. No great zingers between the two love interests. All this film really had going for it was the talent of one actress and the beauty of Scarlett Johansson. Sadly, while these two things are mighty impressive - they don't do too much for redeeming the Nanny Diaries.
When a recently graduated 20-something girl named Annie (Johansson) starts searching for a job in New York City, she accidentally finds herself represented as a nanny and then hired as one to a rich Manhattan family. With but one child to look after, how hard could the job be? In reality not that hard, but Annie seems to be the dumbest and most inept college graduate film has ever seen. Simple tasks become personal Everests as she attempts to look after the son of a rich business man (played amicably by a portly Paul Giamatti) and the Manhattan Mother from Hell (played very well by Laura Linney). Honestly, it's Giamatti and Linney who give the film any credibility whatsoever as Annie chases after both the child and the in-house male love interest played by Chris Evans (you know him best as Johnny Storm of Fantastic Four err...fame?).
As Annie narrates each nanny debacle one after the other, she finds herself drawn into the Manhattan lifestyle that she swore to herself she would observe from a distance. But how does a one return to a point of observation after having compromised their purely observational stance? According to Nanny Diaries - they don't. As the movie attempts to wrap up far too quickly, a series of events unravel giving our parental protagonist an easy way out that lets her keep her sanity, get the guy and restore her honor before everyone in her life. How saccharine.
Scarlett Johansson's dry wit remains but the role doesn't offer her any room to really open it up and explore. The character's neuroses allow for a few intermittent moments of comedy that are otherwise pruned before they can bear juicy laughs. Sure you'll chuckle here and there, but it's not nearly as rewarding as it could have been. It really did seem that the direction was banking half on the actress's beauty and half on her skills as an actress. Hopefully in the future people will learn to count entirely upon Scarlett's acting abilities while keeping her stunning beauty as a mere bonus to lure in the curious [read: enamored] male viewers.
Nanny Diaries, though it wasn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, found Laura Linney at her best - possibly tying only with her role in Breach. Fine, maybe it ranks second to the Truman Show. But it's close. In short - Linney adds an air of quality to an otherwise bland comedy that lacks in so many ways.
Paul Giamatti doesn't strain himself too much as the adulterous workaholic husband with a sleazy streak. He doesn't put much effort into the role - or any roles as of late (cough cough Shoot em Up cough cough). He's there merely as another big name to list on the posters.
Chris Evans. Has he really ever been good in anything? Maybe Sunshine. Maybe. He plays the jockish guy and you're not entirely convinced he's acting.
Nanny Diaries - if you have testosterone: don't bother.
Nanny Diaries - if you have ovaries: go for it!
Nanny Diaries - if you have testosterone and are trying to get closer to someone with ovaries: it's tolerable. It could be worse. Think Bridget Jones.
"The Nanny Diaries" opens August 24, 2007 and is rated PG13. Comedy. Directed by Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman. Written by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus. Starring Alicia Keys, Chris Evans, Donna Murphy, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti, Scarlett Johansson, John Henry Cox.
