Nanny Diaries, TheClaudia PuigThe very rich are different from you and me. And much worse. That's basically the message of the disappointingly banal Nanny Diaries, a film that is even more lightweight and clich??d than the fluff that was the best-selling book. The movie falters mostly by giving us caricatures rather than full-bodied characters. Though given its source material, the lightly satirical chick-lit novel of the same name, it's hard to imagine the film being substantial or truly biting. Still, the choice of directors made one hope for more. Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini wrote and directed the film, and their last effort was the splendidly original and funny American Splendor. Given their involvement and the casting of such talented actors as Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti in the lead roles, the mildly comic but paper-thin result is all the more disappointing. The movie tries to effect a sardonically witty tone with silly nicknames and the lead character assuming the stance of an anthropologist studying the rich and self-obsessed of New York's Upper East Side. But the attempt, much of it in clunky voice-over narration, results in predictable observations and tired stereotypes. Annie (Johansson) is a recent college graduate with no definite career plans. A chance encounter in the park results in her taking a nanny gig, lured by the glamorously overbearing manner of her ultra-chic employer (Linney), referred to simply as Mrs. X. Mrs. X prefers to spend her time shopping, lunching and holing up at spas rather than being a mother to her young son. But she has strict ideas about how he should be reared (an organic diet, French lessons, Sundays at the museum) and treats Annie like a robot servant, calling her simply "Nanny." Mr. X (Giamatti) is even worse: a narcissistic, workaholic philanderer who ignores his son, yells at his wife and manhandles the nannies. Though Linney and Giamatti's characters are so hideous they're occasionally funny, they mostly come off as cartoonish figures. As a whole, The Nanny Diaries seems like a slightly humorous, rather clumsy sitcom. While it follows the book's plotline, it fails to strike an effectively dark and witty tone. One of the problems is that Annie is bland and colorless. Yes, she's not certain who she is yet upon graduating from college, but she also seems to have forgotten to develop a personality along the way. In the book, the character, who also is the narrator, was more snarky, and the overall tone was edgier. It's as if the directive here was to smooth her edges to make her more palatable for mass audiences. ' All we know is that she develops an affection for the little boy in her charge. She swallows much of her anger at his monstrous parents until the film's climax. But by then, her sudden burst of feisty wisdom seems like too little, too late. ?? Copyright 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. |
