The Nanny Diaries

I didn't have high expectations going into The Nanny Diaries, most especially because Scarlett Johansson is not my favorite actress. In general, most of her recent movies overwhelmingly focus on her boobs, which annoyed me so much, that I stopped seeing her films. Part of her problem is that she seems to have become Woody Allen's latest muse, and we all know what he thinks of younger women. Happily, in The Nanny Diaries the offenders are under wraps and while this is not a great movie, it's not such a bad one either.

For one thing, it's an interesting story about race and class. For those who haven't read the book, Johansson plays Annie Braddock, a Jersey working class girl who realizes that she doesn't want a career in finance and falls into a job as a nanny to the Park Avenue set. Having been brought up by a single mom (the always-great Donna Murphy) who has worked her ass off to give her daughter everything she never had, Annie lies to her about her job to stave off the lecture of disappointment and regret.

The responsibilities and expectations placed on the nannies for the really rich is just ridiculous. The people that Annie works for are absurdly wealthy, and because she is white and college-educated, she is a precious commodity. Most of the nannies come from the Caribbean, Asia or Ireland, as we are shown in an early scene where the nanny world is laid out for Annie by her peers. Her easy summer in the city starts to look a lot harder when she realizes that she is a "Type Three Nanny," the 24/7 kind. "Type One" is a couple of evenings a week, and "Type Two" is an afternoon nanny, which I was about 15 years ago. Additionally, the invisibility of the women who are raising the children of the rich is bluntly at play here. They are invisible to the people they work for, but are the only ones who pay attention to their children, usually to the detriment of their own children.

The women whose children are being raised, bathed, clothes, and loved by other women are a lonely, sad bunch with absent husbands who work non-stop to keep up their fancy lifestyles that they never get to enjoy. Paul Giammati plays Mr. X, a disconnected businessman who doesn't ever acknowledge Annie except when he tries to grope her. He only deals with his love-starved son Grayer when he sees fit. Laura Linney, in another outstanding performance, plays the sad and incredibly well-dressed Mrs. X as a woman as desperate in need of attention as her five-year-old son. The whole family is just sad.

The overall premise is a bit thin, and I wonder if anyone outside New York City will be able to relate to these absurd people. Watching this movie made me understand why people think of New York City as a completely different world from the rest of the country. This examination of the social world of the Upper East Side upper crust is interesting because it confirms that old adage: money can't buy you everything.

Comments

[Matt2891]

Republicnotademocracy: "And what, specifically, is wrong with Scarlett's boobs, pray tell?"

When the hell did I stumble into a Fark thread?

So, in the spirit of your post: This thread is useless without pics.

[ORSunshine]

The money doesn't buy everything is a good thing to put on the big screen -- in my humble opinion.

I was given the opportunity to give a speech about life when I was a graduating from high school. To my peers I gave a speech with that exact message. At the time I was rather militant that having one parent stay at home was the best way to raise children. I'm still adament that it's the best way, but realize that economic pressures can force people into other situations... however, in the case of the super-rich it seems that personal ego and "self fulfilment" are the reasons given for not giving up your career to take care of your children.

As I approach motherhood (age 27), I keep contemplating this conundrum. I don't know what the answer will be for me, but I hope it is one that is in the best interest of my children in the long run.

[Republicnotademocracy]

And what, specifically, is wrong with Scarlett's boobs, pray tell?

[AngryAmish]

Paying someone to parent your child for you is not an exclusively New York phenomenon. Rich people have nannies in Chicago, too. And St. Louis. . . Columbus. . . .anywhere there is an upper-middle class.

I recall having a day off work on a weekday shortly after I moved to Chicago. I marveled at all the young mothers strolling their babies together at midday and exchanging gossip in Eastern European languages that I did not understand. How nice that they have each other to lean on during the first difficult years of motherhood, I thought.

Then it hit me: Those women weren't mothers; they were recent immigrants charged with rearing the children of the doctors and lawyers on Lake Shore Drive, a few blocks away.

If the "Nannie Diaries" flops, it won't be because it doesn't resonate with the habitants of the fly-over states.