Jonah Hill, notable for his roles in Superbad and Moneyball, returns to his crude humor as he stars in The Sitter. Hill plays Noah, a dead-beat college student who now lives with his mother after making some unwise decisions. Taking on the job to babysit three troublesome kids with the combination of an ungrateful girlfriend and a drug scandal later results in Noah finding himself in a ridiculous and life threatening situation.
After some “alone time” with his so-called girlfriend, Noah returns home to find that his mother will be going on a date since his father had left the family. When Mrs. Pedulla (played by Erin Daniels) calls to cancel the set up date due to a lack of a babysitter, Noah’s mother asks him to babysit her kids. At first he declines, but after seeing her look disappointed, he decides to take on the job. When he arrives to the home of the Pedullas, he meets Slater (played by Max Records), who is confused about his orientation, Blithe (played by Landry Bender), who tries to emulate her life after trashy celebrities, and Rodrigo (played by Kevin Hernandez), who was adopted and likes to cause mischief. A disgruntled Noah gets a call from his girlfriend who asks him to go to her drug dealer friend to get some cocaine. Out of desperate desires for sex, he decides to help her out, but bring the kids along with him. Upon meeting up with the drug dealer, Noah discovers that Rodrigo stole a prized glass case filled with expensive cocaine. When it breaks, the drug dealer demands ten thousand dollars and threatens Noah’s life. Along the way, Noah’s hatred towards the kids turns into understanding as he gets closer to each one. He helps bring out their true sides and tells them to not be someone they are not.
Although the movie is filled with crude and sexual humor, there is still an underlying lesson to be learned, which was the all too common “be yourself” or “don’t be someone you’re not”. It is overdone, yet Hill’s straightforward character is still able to get to the point of the lesson in three scenes; one for each kid. A notable one was his talk with Slater, who uses anxiety pills to feel as if he is straight when he clearly is not. In a tough love kind of way, the realization becomes most clear; be yourself.
The many events that ensue, such as those that are coincidentally unfortunate, have been done in countless of other movies as well. They are not new; a bad run in with a drug dealer, a couple of bar scenes, a fight at a party…it is no doubt another crude teen movie. Although the movie is very cliche, it is still fun to laugh at. The movie still consists of funny lines that are somewhat memorable. That is one success of the movie, presented by Hill’s distinct voice and reaction. It is a character you remember because of the voice.
All in all, if you do not find humor out of stupidity, this movie may not even take a chuckle out of you. However, the growing bond between a disgruntled college student and three unique kids should still make you smile.
