THE Babysitters
The Story:
High school senior Shirley Lyner (Katherine Waterston) keeps her life in a nice, orderly manner. She likes her right angles. She likes knowing where things are. She likes the expected, not the surprises. As Shirley is fond of saying, “everything and everyone has a place”.
Michael Beltran (John Leguizamo) has a different outlook on life. The father of two, Michael married Gail (Cynthia Nixon), the ‘party-girl’ who turned out to be the responsible one in the family. He works a job he doesn’t like, misses the occasional AA meeting, and longs for a little of the excitement he used to know.
When Michael drives Shirley home from babysitting the first night, they both find something they need in each other. Michael wants someone, anyone, to think of him as fascinating and funny and vital. Shirley wants someone to think of her as grown up. Michael and Shirley share a forbidden kiss.
For Michael, guilt over the kiss leads him to overpay Shirley for her babysitting services. When they eventually have sex, he gives her $200. This paves the way for the enterprising Shirley to enlist her best friend, Melissa (Lauren Birkell), as a “baby sitter” for Michael’s pal Jerry (Andy Comeau). Before long Shirley is running a teenage prostitution ring and demanding 20 percent of her girls’ earnings.
Her business is threatened by Nadine (Halley Wegryn Gross), a new recruit who balks at paying Shirley a percentage and steals her clients, and by the emotional instability of Nadine’s half sister, Brenda (Louisa Krause), who begins to come apart after being given Ecstasy at a weekend orgy. So while “business” is soon booming, so too are greed, envy and jealousy threatening to spiral Shirley’s carefully constructed world wildly out of control.
Starring:
John Leguizamo, Katherine Waterston, Cynthia Nixon, Andy Comeau, Lauren Birkell, Louisa Krause, Denis O'Hare, Halley Wegryn Gross, Ethan Phillips, Alexandra Daddario, Spencer Treat Clark, Jason Dubin, Harold Fort, Michael Yavnielli, Andi Potamkin
Directed By:
David Ross
Releases:
2007
Watch the Trailer:
