The Nanny Diaries 2007 Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Donna Murphy, Alicia Keys

Written by: Matt Booth October 9, 2007

Do you scan the newspapers movie reviews and internet sites trying to decide what movie to see! I sometimes have a heck of a time deciding myself. In fact, it just happened to me this past week, when I went to use one of the free movie passes sent to me by the good people at Moviebuffs.com.

Since I usually go by Stars and am a huge fan of Scarlett Johannson and love the work of Laura Linney, I decided to give "The Nanny Diaries" a try on a Saturday afternoon... It was nice to not have to fork over the $10 at the door for the ticket and left plenty for popcorn. Thank You Moviebuffs!!

Now to the movie. The Nanny Diaries is the fictional story of Annie Braddock(Johannson) who is fresh out of college and like many people at that stage of her life, still undecided as to what type or career she wants to pursue. She is pressured by her nurse Mother, played by the very attractive Donna Murphy to work in the business world of New York City, as she has had a middle class upbringing in New Jersey. She hates this idea.  By chance Annie finds out about a job working as a Nanny for a rich Manhattan couple called Mr. and Mrs. X, who need a Nanny to help care for their son Grayer. These characters are played by Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti and 8 year old Nicholas Reese Art. She figures this job will do until she can start her studies in Anthropology, which is her dream career.

Mr. and Mrs. X are just like you would imagine a Rich Manhattan couple to be, as they push everyone around, are obnoxious, and have no respect for anyone but themselves. Annie has a hard time dealing with their behavior, but becomes very fond of Grayer. I think you can see where the story is going from here.  Annie also falls for a Harvard Hunk that works in the building where the X's live and consoles with her friend, played by Alicia Keys on her cell phone all the time. Annie's good natured attitude keeps the story somewhat believable, as she really wants to have a successful life. She keeps hanging in there, but ultimately decides she cannot change the ways of the X's. Her interaction with these characters is what fuels the movie.

This film is advertised as a comedy and does have some funny parts, but overall it is a bit slow and the script has some weak parts. However, Scarlet Johansson and entire cast do a great job and without their star power I would give this movie only 1 star.  Instead, I will rate it  1/2 out of 4 stars, because if you stay with the movie till the very end, you get a cute, heart felt ending. For parental guidance sake, I thought they could have left out the one F Bomb.