Not half as good as it wants you to think it is
The Nanny Diaries fits into the same category as The Devil Wears Prada. Both feature women who take a plunge into a society that's not prepared for them and, more importantly, they aren't prepared for. In the Devil Wears Prada, the target is fashion. Here, the target is more broad: upper class Manhattanites with no time for their families.
The movie owes even more to The Devil Wears Prada (including a brief snippet that features the main character reading the novel in a wink-wink, nudge-nudge homage) and contains, unfortunately, none of the spark and cutting edge that the former had. Here we have the always beautiful Scarlett Johansson as an Anthropology student named Annie who is uncertain about her future and what she wants to be in the real world. Instead of facing the future, she stumbles upon Mrs. X (played with icy chill by Laura Linney) who mistakes her name Annie as "nanny" and immediately the park seems crowded with Manhattanites who want her services...
Nanny and the City
-I knew absolutely nothing about this movie going in. Didn't know who was in it or what it was going to be about. To my surprise I enjoyed the well made movie very much. It had great acting, a solid story, and whiles not being original had it's own unique charms that makes it a very enjoyable movie.
-The movie tells the story of Annie who is a recent graduate plucked into a world she wasn't expecting. She plans to be a financial consultant or something like that but ends being a nanny by chance. The rest of the movie follows her on her adventure as she learns what it takes to be a nanny in NY, and also learns what it takes to survive life.
-The film-making technique is not necessarily an original one in which the main character narrates the whole story but what helps in this one is that it's quite an entertaining narration and she doesn't narrate the whole movie so it does help. The odd visual style is also nicely done with some unique effects and one really...
Didn't Want to See it, Glad I Did...
I had no intention of seeing this flick. My daughter, who spent a few years as a nanny, didn't care for it. And I didn't know what to expect. But at the video store, with coupon in hand and slim pickings, I rented it.
I ended up being charmed by the unique quirkiness of this film. Nanny Diaries includes a hint of Mary Poppins along with a museum-type look at family norms and not so norms throughout the movie. This film has elements of terrible sadness and that is why my daughter didn't like it. The viewer gets to see the inside of a very unhealthy family. Annie (Johannson) doesn't come from much healthier stock with a mom who is over-bearing and hard to please and a father who is a non-figure in her life.
Annie hits her crossroad moment when a potential new employer asks her who she is. Annie discovers who she is by her short time as a nanny.
I was impressed with the total lack of on-screen sexuality. Annie has a behind closed doors moment with a...
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