The Sitter
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: December 9, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
11
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
New York PostKyle SmithDec 9, 2011
It's smart, funny, agreeably perverse and simultaneously abrupt and exhausting. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzDec 8, 2011
Yes, it's that sappy, in between the F-bomb barrage. But Hill brings an infectious confidence to his performance, even when he's supposedly down and out. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasDec 7, 2011
Yet in its best moments - and there are several good ones scattered across this ramshackle comedy - The Sitter is a reminder that Green's sensibility has always been heavy on whimsy and play, and that maybe he hasn't strayed that far from home. Read full review
65
MovielineAlison WillmoreDec 8, 2011
The Sitter's a lazy ramble of a movie that's amusing enough to hold your gaze for 81 minutes while leaving you feeling a little cheated when it's over. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinDec 27, 2011
The Sitter feels slapdash and quick, but you might not want to have it any other way. Read full review
60
TimeMary PolsDec 8, 2011
The Sitter is predicated on a belief that chunky Jonah Hill, or at least the persona he presents, is secretly supercool. While it turns out to be a wisp of a movie, on that front at least, it is persuasive. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 12, 2011
The Sitter is sort of an "Adventures in Babysitting" with a potty mouth. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeDec 9, 2011
Hill shows less snark and agitation than usual here, and the restraint serves him well. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumDec 8, 2011
A needlessly frenzied, pseudo-raunch comedy that whips up a whole lot of R-rated antics only to arrive at crunchy PG-13 lessons in love and tolerance. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla DargisDec 8, 2011
Some of it, though, is absurdly comic, like the shot of a guy on a Segway that exists for no reason other than that someone here thought the movie could use a small laugh right then. It did. It could use more. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeDec 8, 2011
This ostensibly wild-and-crazy romp plays things too close to the book to feel genuinely wild or crazy. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 8, 2011
The Sitter pushes the envelope with such sloppy gusto that you have to give in occasionally, and its comic timing finds its rhythm about every fifth joke. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaDec 8, 2011
While The Sitter isn't that dumb, or dreadful, there really isn't much going on here. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 8, 2011
I hope Green one day finds a way to bridge the style and rhythm of his early pictures (the ones that didn't make money) and the bumper-car approach of The Sitter. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesDec 15, 2011
For a comedy, The Sitter is frightfully spare on full-bodied laughs. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenDec 9, 2011
Add up these three intentions – the down-and-dirty tone, the tender and uplifting message, the starring vehicle – and the math ain't funny. Bottom line: This movie is a whole lot less than the sum of its parts. Read full review
38
Washington PostAnn HornadayDec 8, 2011
One of the weaknesses of The Sitter is that Hill doesn't develop much comic chemistry with the children. Read full review
38
USA TodayScott BowlesDec 8, 2011
There's nothing wrong in the setup: It worked fine in films like "Adventures in Babysitting" and "Uncle Buck." But director David Gordon Green populates the movie with so many soap opera asides it's hard to keep count. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineR. Kurt OsenlundDec 8, 2011
An ugly rendering of an infantile script that constantly exploits stereotypes for cheap guffaws, and employs the hollow trend of hoping ultra-specific, zeitgeisty lingo will distract from inert, derivative storytelling. Read full review
33
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 8, 2011
Sit this one out. Read full review
30
NPRAndrew LapinDec 9, 2011
None of it is inherently funny - as evidenced by how many scenes depend for a punchline on Hill swearing at one child or another. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyDec 9, 2011
I'm going with the filmmakers as the folks most responsible for perpetrating this terribly unfunny and overwhelmingly raunchy film that stars the normally likable, or at least comically forgivable, Jonah Hill. He is neither here. Read full review
30
Boxoffice MagazineKate ErblandDec 8, 2011
The Sitter clocks in at a slim 81 minutes, but it feels significantly longer, as there is almost no fluidity between scenes, with the entire outing feeling slapped together at the last minute. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezDec 8, 2011
This odious, hypocritical movie marks director David Gordon Green's graduation into full-on hack. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertDec 7, 2011
I am so very, very tired of movies like this. Does the story line strike you as original? It sounds to me like another slice off the cheesecake of dreck. Read full review
20
Time OutA. A. DowdDec 13, 2011
After "Pineapple Express" and "Your Highness," is Green now contractually obligated to revive every dead comedic subgenre of the '80s? What's next, a stoner-friendly "License to Drive"? Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierDec 9, 2011
The Sitter is not only an atrocious shout-out to bad '80s comedies, it's also the kind of movie Jonah Hill should look at as a crass blast from his past. Read full review
20
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesDec 8, 2011
As with many R-rated studio comedies, the transgressive humor isn't nearly as offensive as the phony sentiment that's supposed to redeem it, supplied here in stale scenes of the sitter bonding with his little charges. Read full review
0
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliDec 8, 2011
The Sitter is not (Funny). At all. By any definition, although an argument might be made for the alternate meanings "perplexing," "deceptive" and "slightly unwell." Read full review
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