The Babysitter

The Babysitter stars Alicia Silverstone as Jennifer, object of lust for her ineffectual bookworm boyfriend Jack (Jeremy London), colossal teenage jerk Mark (Nicky Katt), married man Harry Tucker (J.T. Walsh), and even Harry's randy pre-teen son Jimmy (Ryan Slater). As Jennifer innocently goes about her duties as a babysitter, the males fantasise about the young woman and desire eventually turns to obsession with fatal consequences.

There was a time when teenage temptress Silverstone was shaping up to be a major player in Hollywood, her role in hit teen comedy Clueless seriously boosting her bankability as an actress. But then she appeared in the abysmal Batman and Robin (as Batgirl) and pointless drivel like The Babysitter, an erotic thriller that is neither thrilling nor erotic (largely thanks to a no nudity clause in Silverstone's contract). Her star rapidly faded.

To be fair, Silverstone is perfectly adequate in her role, but the film's script goes nowhere slowly, its study of the male libido being neither enlightening (everybody knows how horny we men can be) nor all that interesting. Unappealing characters (Jennifer aside) also serve to make this film hard to endure, with wet-blanket Jack making unlikely boyfriend material for a hottie like Jennifer, Mark being a total tool, and Harry a slimy perv. Director Guy Ferland ends the film with a downer of a finale that sees one family losing a son, and another losing a father, making this not just boring but rather depressing too.