The Nanny Diaries

DVD review from The Movie Snob

The Nanny Diaries (B-). I was surprised that this movie did not do better at the box office, considering how popular the book was. (I read and enjoyed the book, way back when, but have long since forgotten most of the details.) The movie is a pleasant enough way to spend 106 minutes. Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson, Eight Legged Freaks) is a young woman trying to figure out who she is and what she wants out of life. By sheer happenstance, she finds herself hired on as the nanny for a fabulously wealthy family in Manhattan, with Mrs. X (Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me) as her exceptionally high-strung boss. She bonds with her charge, a kid by the name of Grayer (Nicholas Art, Syriana), and tries to flirt with the Harvard Hottie who lives in the Xes' building, all the while knowing that the situation will have to come to an end--probably sooner than later, given Mrs. X's temper. Linney steals the show, in my opinion, but then she's always good. Worth a rental.