The Babysitter's Seduction

I totally love Keri Russell, so I had to check this out if only to see her past "indiscretions" vis-à-vis movie scripts. I enjoyed this film and thought she gave a strong performance aside for a few scenes, though it's a TV movie and some fairly obvious flaws have to be expected. Stephen Collins has always come off to me as a sleazebag, so I guess this role worked for me. Still tough to see him on screen next to a 20-year-old. I'd agree that Phylicia Rashad fell flat as a piece of cardboard compared to the other characters. If you enjoy an occasional melodrama complete with yelling at your television, this is an enjoyable guilty pleasure.

Keri Russell stars in this TV movie about a devoted, but slightly rebellious teenager named Michelle who regularly babysitstwo kids belonging to Bill (Stephen Collins), a rich businessman whose wife later dies under mysterious circumstances. Bill's long-time detective friend Frank (Tobin Bell) suspects that Michelle is responsible. Bill refuses to believe it, but Michelle is determined to investigate the matter herself before she puts her own life in danger. This movie offers more of the same as your typical Lifetime TV movie and some of the supporting cast is underutilized, particularly Phylicia Rashad as Frank's sympathetic partner and Linda Kelsey as Michelle's disdainful mother. The music score by the legendary Jan Hammer hits it off with the more suspenseful moments.

This was a fairly watchable film. Stephen Collins' character came across as a very nice person, and as with any good mystery, one kept guessing for a while as to "whodunnit," after the other suspect was introduced. (Although once the killer became known, we entered into silly potboiler territory.) I thought Ms. Rashad made for a good detective. And our heroine was very winning. As for the older man-younger woman hook-up that a few reviewers found repulsive, such an outlook is really a curious state of the times. Our extremely youth-oriented society has brainwashed the masses into rejecting practically everyone who is over thirty; it's as though you either must cease to exist as a sexual being once you reach a certain age, or you must only be confined to partnering with one in your own age bracket. Even if there's a young person of legal, consenting age, people have now been trained to believe -- perhaps because the media has sometimes built the sex offender issue to a fever pitch, and some people think they are doing their "moral duty" -- there is something unethical about an age gap between lovers. I just watched the 1937 movie, ALGIERS, where the young and beautiful Hedy Lamarr was engaged to an older ogre of a man who was much more hideous than Stephen Collins, and yet the alliance seemed fairly natural; yes, in this case, she was in it for his money (an allure for our heroine in "The Babysitter's Seduction" as well, although the babysitter did develop genuine feelings for the man), but that was Hedy Lamarr's choice, just as it was Anna Nicole Smith's in real life, years later. Stepping aside from the lure of the sugar daddy, and entering the realm of genuinely "equal" relationships, it's a pity people have become uptight, and regard age as more than a number. Years back, there was more normalcy about accepting older people as regular human beings.

The story and plot sound rather like a typical Lifetime drama, where they combine realism within the plot and add in a few dramatic elements for effect. It's not nearly as erotic or suspenseful thrilling as it could have been- considering this is possibly PG-13 as they had restrictions.

It certainly starts off as you would expect with seeing the death scene of the wife (which is the synopsis and key plot- not a spoiler). The central plot is about how she died as it's framed as a suicide. But we know it's a murder. Certainly predictably where we expect it to be the husband who did it. As further watching, they casually throw away the reveal where it isn't shocking.

The standout is Keri Russell who made her character believable once she got confortable to the portrayal. Stephen Collins was just right for his role, playing the father who "seduces" Russell.

The conclusion was somewhat of a letdown all be it still entertaining enough. Where things unfold predictably. There's a 'cat and mouse' game within the finale which was bizarrely done and didn't make much sense considering why Collin's didn't make it more difficult for Russell to escape. It's as if he wanted her to escape. Also her escaping was rather unrealistic.

In the end, she gets away. The cops of course show up as they arrest him (seemingly he's okay after being stabbed). The film isn't anything special. The concept and Keri Russell make it worthwhile for a Lifetime 90's film and the scenery is solid as well. Perhaps slightly better than expected.

The movie felt a bit longer than it should have been, kind of boring at times. The twists were decent fun. Keri Russell delivers a solid performance as Michelle, a babysitter caught in a web of lies and suspicion after the sudden death of her employer's wife. While the plot has its moments of intrigue, it leans heavily on predictable tropes typical of 90s thrillers. The pacing drags in parts, but the cast, including Stephen Collins and Phylicia Rashad, adds depth. Not groundbreaking, but it's watchable for fans of Lifetime-style dramas. An alright movie overall, something perfect for when you need something to watch and it doesn't really matter what.