35
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75The Globe and Mail (Toronto)The Globe and Mail (Toronto)If Leguizamo imports a hint of pathos into his performance, Waterston adds a dollop of menace to hers, delivering another of Ross's attacks on what separates girls from men. In this world, women are their own worst enemy.
- 63TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxThere's no getting around the fact that Ross's whole cynical premise is based on the lurid male assumption that nubile, college-bound teens have few qualms about selling themselves, a fantasy as deluded as the targets of Ross's barbed arrows.
- The film remains engaging in no small part because of the beguiling and enigmatic performance of Waterston, daughter of "Law & Order" star Sam Waterston. It is a shame she isn't given a better context in which to thrive.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckAttempting to be this generation's "Risky Business," The Babysitters is the sort of ribald morality tale that manages to feel sleazy and decorous at the same time.
- 50VarietyVarietyIt ultimately fails to deliver on the audacity of its premise. Neither truly original nor a guilty-pleasure genre spin, the picture lacks a hook for general audiences who may find the subject matter distasteful as presented.
- 33Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe premise is out of '70s porn, and so is the overbroad satire and almost total lack of conviction.
- 30Village VoiceVillage VoiceUltimately, the film's view of female self-loathing and girl-on-girl exploitation is woefully reductive and painful.
- 30The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenShirley’s instant metamorphosis from insecure high school student to ruthless madam is ludicrous in spite of the best efforts of the talented Ms. Waterston to convince you otherwise. The Babysitters has the increasingly jerky momentum of a film that was butchered in the cutting room, sacrificing continuity and character development to whip the plot forward.
- 25New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithI'd call it a depressing soft-core porn flick, but that overstates its titillation factor. Mainly it's just icky.
- 0Washington PostAnn HornadayWashington PostAnn HornadayA special place in purgatory must be reserved for John Leguizamo, who produced and stars in The Babysitters, a loathsome slice of exploitation at its most cynical and crass.