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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Great acting and premise Mar 17, 2010
Other reviewers found this movie trite. Perhaps the difficulties wealthy white New Yorkers face isn't profound enough social commentary for some. I thought it was great. The acting, directing, and writing were well executed. Paul Giamatti was especially good. The best thing, though, is the window it gives into the upbringing of the upper classes. Here we have a child ignored by his parents, and loved by a succession of nannies who abandon him. Of course, you might come away with some sympathy for the devil. That's the point. Why are those who've been given everything for nothing often arrogant, distant, and unhappy? Watch the movie. It isn't a touching story about how someone without hope overcomes the odds. It might tell you why those folks seem so hopeless in the first place, though.
I've given it four stars to be picky. It's a really interesting piece, but not my favorite movie ever made. I might watch it again, but probably with someone else.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
DVD Nanny Diaries Dec 03, 2009
It is a great movie and I am enjoying it. My whole experience with Amazon has always been positive and easy! Thanks So much!
"Keep your voice down, there are mimes in the other room" Oct 07, 2009
Based on the illuminating, surprise bestseller written by two former nannies, THE NANNY DIARIES is a sharply incisive comedy which uncovers the messier side to the profession of high-society childcare. This isn't some sparkling fairytale with Julie Andrews or Fran Drescher...
When college graduate Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson) enters the 'real world', she quickly discovers that whilst she's well-versed in theory, her life experiences come up decidedly short by comparison. A chance encounter with "Mrs. X." (Laura Linney), a well-heeled 5th Avenue wife and her young, recently nanny-less son Grayer (Nicholas Art) provides the solution. What could be the more perfect experience for a budding anthropology student?
Annie's life as 24/7 nanny for the "X." family looks too good to be true - and it is! Suddenly Annie finds herself slowly consumed by the impossible demands of "Mrs. X" and her slimy husband (Paul Giamatti)...and falling in love, first with adorable Grayer, and again with neighbour "Harvard Hottie" (Chris Evans).
"The Devil Wears Prada" it's definitely not, but THE NANNY DIARIES does offer a refreshing change to the normal, sugary sweet rom-coms. Scarlett Johansson does a wonderful job conveying Annie's stupefying bewilderment of working in the "X." house; Laura Linney is the perfect ice-queen but does ocassionally let the "mask" fall to reveal the vulnerable woman underneath. Paul Giamatti is sadly wasted as "Mr. X.", and to a certain extent, so too is the talented Donna Murphy, who plays Annie's blue-collar mother. Nicholas Art, a genuine star in the making, is wonderful as Grayer.
 cookie-cutter comedy Sep 27, 2009
**1/2
Recent college grad Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson) is all set for a career in business when she quite literally falls into a position as nanny for the four-year-old son (Nicholas Art) of a snooty, self-absorbed Upper East Side socialite named Alexandra X, played by a sadly miscast Laura Linney (among many of the movie`s wearisomely cutesy touches is not giving a surname to the family that hires her).
Based on the novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, "The Nanny Diaries" is, unfortunately, every bit as predictable and trite as its simpleminded premise would lead one to expect. Beyond trafficking in just about every stereotype and cliché imaginable - the heartless, neurotic, slave-driving elitists; the sensitive knight-in-shining armor love interest (Chris Evans); the nagging, free-living best friend; the lecherous, nanny-chasing husband (Paul Giamatti) - the movie is woefully unsuccessful even at treading that fine line between cleverness and cuteness that can make or break a film of this type. There is an affectionate tribute to "Mary Poppins" that - early on at least - suggests that the movie might actually try to do something a little daring, a little different. But that air of fanciful creativity is quickly squelched in favor of formulaic storytelling and cookie cutter characterizations.
Interestingly, the filmmakers, for all their championing of the women employed as nannies, seem to have almost as low an opinion of the profession itself as do the elite snobs who appear on screen.
All told, Johansson is really the only decent thing about "The Nanny Diaries" (well, little Nicholas Art is pretty cool too), but even her staunchest admirers would be well advised to look the other way when it comes to this film.
 Almost as painful as the novel. Sep 26, 2009
The Nanny Diaries features a wonderful cast of actors in one of the most awful films I've seen in some time.
In essence, it will leave you agonizingly depressed. Is there any hope for the human race with parents as incompetent as this? To the film's credit, it attempts to elevate the "mother" to the position of a caring person. After all, she now can eat peanut butter and jelly directly from the jar -- what a woman!! But it's all too little too late. The sight of the crying, abandoned child and the heartless, cold "father" dumping his son's puppy on the departing nanny was enough to depress me for weeks.
This story was bad enough when I read it. The novel was touted as a stellar example of the writing of chick-lit. It is not.
However, it is important to note that the "nanny cam" scene in the book was a redeeming moment. That same scene in the film had no such impact. It lacked power, and merely fell flat. The added on scenes indicating the "redemption" of the biological mother were also jejune and a waste of the audience's time, as was the rest of the film.
It's bad.
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