The Nanny Diaries
Scarlett Johannson certainly has the looks to be Hollywood's Next Big Thing. But she hasn't shown the kind of acting chops that would help her make that career progression to Serious Actress.That's even more painfully apparently when she's stuck in the unenviable position of having to carry a film like "The Nanny Diaries." Johannson is barely able to hold her own against acting heavyweights Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti, much less pull off this comedy-drama's pivotal role.
Of course, this adaptation of Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus' best-selling book has other problems, not the least of which is its rather unpleasant, patronizing tone and its one-note characterizations.
Johannson stars as Annie Braddock, a recent college graduate who isn't sure what she wants to do with her life. A job interview goes disastrously, but Annie bounces back with an offer to be a nanny for a Fifth Avenue family.
It may sound like an easy gig, but her employer, the so-called "Mrs. X" (Linney), is self-involved and very demanding. And she's clearly neglecting her young son, Grayer (Nicholas Art).
Annie soon discovers that she barely has any time for herself, much less time for a romance with a neighboring "Harvard Hottie" (Chris Evans).
Linney does her usual solid work, and her character is the one interesting person in all of this. Giamatti only shows up a for a handful of moments as her philandering husband.
"The Nanny Diaries" is rated PG-13 for some sexual language (profanity, including one usage of the so-called "R-rated" curse worse, and some suggestive slang and other talk), a brief sex scene and other sexual contact, brief drug references (as well as hypodermic needle use) and brief nudity (native nudity and nude statues). Running time: 106 minutes.
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