The Babysitters
Release Date: May 9, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 11 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
4
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kamal AL-Solaylee
If Leguizamo imports a hint of pathos into his performance, Waterston adds a dollop of menace to hers, delivering another of Ross's attacks on what separates girls from men. In this world, women are their own worst enemy. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
There's no getting around the fact that Ross's whole cynical premise is based on the lurid male assumption that nubile, college-bound teens have few qualms about selling themselves, a fantasy as deluded as the targets of Ross's barbed arrows. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesMark Olsen
The film remains engaging in no small part because of the beguiling and enigmatic performance of Waterston, daughter of "Law & Order" star Sam Waterston. It is a shame she isn't given a better context in which to thrive. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Attempting to be this generation's "Risky Business," The Babysitters is the sort of ribald morality tale that manages to feel sleazy and decorous at the same time. Read full review
50
VarietyAlissa Simon
It ultimately fails to deliver on the audacity of its premise. Neither truly original nor a guilty-pleasure genre spin, the picture lacks a hook for general audiences who may find the subject matter distasteful as presented. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
It reads like a Cinemax special event, and as good as Leguizamo and Waterston are, the skeevy, fantasy-fulfillment plot that drives David Ross' movie is uncomfortably risky business. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The premise is out of '70s porn, and so is the overbroad satire and almost total lack of conviction. Read full review
30
Village VoiceEd Gonzalez
Ultimately, the film's view of female self-loathing and girl-on-girl exploitation is woefully reductive and painful. Read full review
30
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Shirley’s instant metamorphosis from insecure high school student to ruthless madam is ludicrous in spite of the best efforts of the talented Ms. Waterston to convince you otherwise. The Babysitters has the increasingly jerky momentum of a film that was butchered in the cutting room, sacrificing continuity and character development to whip the plot forward. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
I'd call it a depressing soft-core porn flick, but that overstates its titillation factor. Mainly it's just icky. Read full review
0
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
A special place in purgatory must be reserved for John Leguizamo, who produced and stars in The Babysitters, a loathsome slice of exploitation at its most cynical and crass. Read full review
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