THE STORY – Middle-aged sexist Cédric gets suspended from work after drunkenly kissing a female reporter during a prank on live TV. Now stuck at home with his long-suffering girlfriend, Nadine, and their incessantly crying baby, Cédric teams up with his sensitive brother, Jean-Michel, to co-author a confessional book apologizing for their past misogyny. Enter Amy: a mysterious a provocative young babysitter, who, like a Mary Poppins of the libido, forces the trio to face their sexual anxieties while turning their lives upside down.
THE CAST – Patrick Hivon, Monia Chokri, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Steve Laplante & Hubert Proulx
THE TEAM – Monia Chokri (Director) & Catherine Léger (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 87 Minutes
After the #MeToo movement became mainstream – following the first sexual assault allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein in the fall of 2017 – a myriad of movies began to tackle these timely issues surrounding sexism and gendered power dynamics in order to spread awareness about the prevalence of sexual abuse and the many ways in which it is perpetuated throughout society. Naturally, some films (“The Assistant” and “Promising Young Woman”) fared better than others (2019’s misguided “Black Christmas” remake). However, most of these filmmakers still had their hearts in the right places, aiming to use art to help make a difference in a rapidly changing sociopolitical climate. With her latest feature, “Babysitter,” French-Canadian director Monia Chokri sets out to do just that – explicitly investigating the intersection of male privilege, misogyny, and the media – but unfortunately, her commentary is ultimately clouded by obnoxious over direction, overly absurdist acting, and erratic editing, resulting in all potential meaningful messages falling on deaf ears, as the film’s sledgehammer-like subtlety and scrambled script leads to scattered storytelling.
Cédric (Patrick Hivon), an accomplished engineer, is celebrating the success of an MMA fight he attended with his friends in the streets one evening when he bumps into a TV reporter he recognizes who has been covering the event. Drunkenly and despite her resistance, he plants a shocking and sloppy kiss on her face for millions of viewers at home to see. Due to the media backlash that results – partially spurred by his self-righteous brother Jean-Michel (Steve Laplante) penning a condemnatory article against Cédric’s actions – Cédric is suspended from his job, leaving him and his wife Nadine (Chokri) without a source of income as they care for their young daughter, Léa. To restore his reputation (and make a quick buck), Cédric and Jean-Michel come up with the idea to write a whole book of apology letters to not just the journalist Cédric assaulted but all women misrepresented in the media. However, while the boys are busy with this book, Nadine – who is suffering from postpartum depression – hires a babysitter named Amy (Nadia Tereszkiewicz). Still, as soon as this blonde and busty beauty arrives, she turns the trio’s lives upside down and throws a wrench in their plans.
Simply put, there is too much going on in “Babysitter’s” script for any of its social commentary to land. We begin with an engaging enough premise – and one all too familiar, given how much focus the media gives to the casual sexual assault like Cédric’s carelessly inflicted on women by men these days – but the story loses its way with the introduction of Amy, who rarely – if ever – impacts our trio in any tangible way. Instead, she distracts both the individuals in the house as they partake in their own specific pursuits (Cédric and Jean-Michel writing their book, Nadine looking after her mental health) and those in the audience trying to find a thematic thread to latch onto. It is rarely clear what the point of Amy’s character is altogether; are we supposed to be shocked that two misogynistic men (with Cédric more outwardly so than his virtue-signaling brother) are mesmerized by this gorgeous young girl and find it hard to concentrate all the false emotions they’re attempting to convey in their book? This is hardly an Earth-shattering revelation, and the irrelevance of Amy’s character makes her the very thing it seems the script is trying to satirize: a sex symbol, plain and simple.
Furthermore, the film is so over-directed and over-edited – to say nothing of the obnoxious overacting – that it becomes a grueling sit even at a mere 87 minutes. We’re supposed to be overwhelmed by the sexual stimuli in this environment in the same way Cédric and Jean-Michel are, but we get the point after ten minutes. To keep the direction this delirious, the editing this exasperating, and the acting this anarchic the whole way through runs the risk of overkill. By the end, we’re no longer too receptive to whatever message is being relayed because we’re simply so exhausted by the overstimulation we’ve been exposed to for an hour and a half. And yet, when all is said and done, it seems like this suffocating style is actually making up for the fact that “Babysitter” really doesn’t have much to say whatsoever. It raises important questions about accountability for sexual assault and faux male feminists. Still, it rarely comes to any compelling conclusions on these conversations, with several – if not all – story threads left up in the air by the time the credits roll and little resolution to be found. Aside from Chokri giving a rather genuine performance as the pained Nadine (the only affecting acting featured in the film), “Babysitter” isn’t worth a watch, and there are far better features on this subject matter to seek out.
