The Babysitters is a 2007 film directed by David Ross.
Shirley (Katherine Waterston) is a high-school senior in a nameless suburban town. She goes out babysitting for a neighbor family, and the dad, Michael (John Leguizamo) gives her a ride home one night. They get along well...too well, as it happens. The next time Shirley babysits she winds up sharing a passionate kiss with Michael. He pays her some extra money. The next babysitting night after that, they have sex, and he pays her some more money.
Shirley is inspired. She starts recruiting her friends and soon is running a prostitution ring in which teenaged girls are bonking older men and raking in bags of money. Shirley continues to see Michael, who is stuck in a frigid marriage with his wife Gail (Cynthia Nixon). Problems arise when Shirley's friend Brenda decides to quit hooking, and when Brenda's stepsister Nadine starts stealing Shirley's business.
Alexandra Daddario plays Barbara, one of Shirley's stable of prostitutes.
Tropes:
- Age-Gap Romance: There's clearly a romance going on between Shirley and Michael; he never samples the favors of any of the other girls. At the end he begs her to bring their relationship out in the open, but she refuses him, for obvious reasons.
- Answer Cut: Gail finds Shirley in a fast food joint and asks if she can come over on Thursday to babysit again. The film cuts from Gail's "Would Thursday work, do you think?", to a shot of Shirley and Michael having sex in his car on Thursday night.
- Establishing Character Moment: In the opening scene a teacher is lecturing the kids about taking the SAT and getting into college. While most of them are sniping at each other or gossiping, Shirley is diligently taking notes, establishing her as more serious than most of her peers.
- Held Gaze: A wistful held gaze between Shirley and Michael at the end of the film, signifying the end of their relationship.
- How We Got Here: The movie starts with Shirley in a cabin full of half-naked girls and sleazy older men. She says that she wasn't sexually abused, that she chose this freely, then says "maybe we should back up." Then the movie jumps back to the beginning of the story.
- I Want My Mommy!: Jerry is about to rape a drugged-up and weeping Brenda at the weekend retreat, when her whispered "Mom?" makes him stop and leave.
- Kubrick Stare: An intense one from Shirley, as she rides in the back seat of Jerry's car wile they're headed to find Nadine and confront her.
- Letting Her Hair Down: Shirley undoes her ponytail as Michael is driving her home from the babysitting gig. It plays as a flirtatious moment.
- Meaningful Background Event: A name tag can be seen on Shirley's blouse in the last scene, suggesting that she's found a more legal way to save money for college.
- Narrator: Only at the beginning and end, Book Ends in which Shirley in narration starts the story and ties it up at the end.
- Primal Scene: A pretty dark instance of this at the climax, when Shirley finds out that Nadine is again stealing business. She finds Nadine having sex with Shirley's father.
- Time-Passes Montage: A montage shows Shirley and the other girls meeting middle-aged men, with Shirley hiding money under her mattress while her hookers deposit cash in Shirley's locker.
- Unusual Euphemism: Shirley insists on calling her prostitution business "babysitting". When Jerry the creep calls her up and says "I want some pussy", she forces him to instead say "I want a babysitter for this evening."
- Visual Title Drop: Shirley goes so far as to print up business cards that say "The Babysitters".
