The Nanny Diaries
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: August 24, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
20
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Berman and Pulcini, who turned Harvey Pekar's graphic memoir into the visually inventive, Oscar-nominated "American Splendor," dress this film as an anthropological field diary and add several fabulous touches. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
A late-summer delight, a sleek, handsomely made bauble buoyed by a cast much stronger than the flimsy material deserves. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The film belongs to Linney, whose caustic putdowns and status-seeking veneer barely hides her genuine hurt over her husband's philandering and her distant relationship to her own child. No doubt her diaries would be more compelling than the nanny's. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Schickel
Something of an odd-duck movie. It is not a broad comedy or a wildly romantic one, either. Nor is it Edith Wharton lite. But it does partake of all those modes in intelligently observant ways. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerMeghan Peters
Although Johansson has a knack for nailing most roles, the angry yet fun-loving nanny doesn't quite work for her. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Johansson, hair dyed brown to make her seem less glamorous, spices up this bland role. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie itself is sort of bland and obvious and comfortable. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
There's a good movie buried inside The Nanny Diaries, and a good cast trying hard to dig it out. Too bad they don't get much help. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Weak dramatically, and that limits its overall effectiveness. Read full review
60
EmpireStaff (Not credited)
Johansson is no Anne Hathaway in this pleasant but forgettable comedy. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The comedy has several inspired moments and a genuine flair for the satiric, but overall the film leaves you cold. Read full review
50
VarietyLael Loewenstein
Rarely rises above standard sitcom fare. Read full review
50
Village VoiceScott Foundas
Like the book, the Nanny Diaries movie never finds a dramatic center. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
They should've thrown everything away except the title and the outline. That's what the "Devil Wears Prada" creative team did, and that film turned out a lot richer than this one. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Awash in spurious sentimentality and sniping. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Linney -- this has happened too much to her -- is once again the best thing in a movie that at most achieves a certain mediocrity. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Because The Nanny Diaries is essentially a two-character story whose supporting players are wooden props, it would help if the actors playing the two were evenly matched. But Ms. Johansson’s Annie, who narrates the movie in a glum, plodding voice, is a leaden screen presence, devoid of charm and humor. Read full review
50
SlateDana Stevens
Watching the movie is a nonexperience--like the Upper East Side apartment where most of the action takes place, it's lavishly appointed but joyless. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
The social bite of the popular novel fades into a generic chick flick. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The very rich are different from you and me. And much worse. That's basically the message of the disappointingly banal Nanny Diaries, a film that is even more lightweight and clichéd than the fluff that was the best-selling book. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Reading this book and watching this movie, as with "The Devil Wears Prada" a year earlier, I'm convinced that chick-lit books are formula - and chick-lit movies are baby formula. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The movie's banal fantasies badly chafe any anthropological consideration of what a girl should do with her career. This isn't life. It's Lifetime. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
The characters are instantly reversible--the bratty kid turns out to be a sweetie pie, the mother just needs to be told off. Only Giamatti, as the cliched businessman husband, is irredeemable. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Despite some clever early fantasy scenes, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini's adaptation of best seller The Nanny Diaries won't make Bridget Jones give up her writing. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Satire should be knife-sharp and whip-smart, and The Nanny Diaries never is. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
An adamantly unterrible picture, a reasonably enjoyable diversion. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
For a light comedy, The Nanny Diaries turns out to have an off-putting theme. It glorifies the romance of slumming. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
As you watch the nannies mistreated and the children left to cry themselves to sleep, the only surprise is that there are no surprises. It’s zombie-land. Read full review
40
The New YorkerDavid Denby
The material has been turned into a trivially narcissistic product for teen-age girls who want to feel indignant about wrongs they are unlikely to suffer. Read full review
38
PremiereDeborah Day
The supporting players do a serviceable job in their roles, but no amount of Oscar-nominee nuance from Giamatti or Linney can salvage what amounts to a candy-striped trifle for post-collegiate slacker existentialists. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
An awful lot of good talent has been squandered in this by-the-numbers film. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoanne Kaufman
So tightly constructed of clichés, stereotypes and chick-lit tropes that it's inert; no fresh air can blow in. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
There's something painful about watching Scarlett Johansson, who looks as if she never had an indecisive moment in her life, struggle to seem ineffectual. Read full review
12
New York PostKyle Smith
A comedic sinkhole, a dramatic tundra. Read full review
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