‘The Nanny Diaries’
lacks originality

At the Movies
By Senitra Horbrook

Diaries are usually something people like to keep hidden. People go to great lengths to keep their secrets, well, secret. Tucked away in a drawer or underneath the mattress are some common hiding places for a diary, and that’s where the script for The Nanny Diaries should have stayed.
I’m usually all for chick-lit adaptations. The Devil Wears Prada, being one of the most recent, comes to mind as being a darn good movie. I wish I could say the same about The Nanny Diaries.
The book, written by former nannies Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus in 2002, caught my eye a few months ago. I noticed there was going to be a movie based on it, so I decided to give it a read. It’s a good book – engaging, witty, satirical – all qualities that the movie lacks.
Similar to main character Andy in The Devil Wears Prada, Annie (Scarlett Johansson) is a fresh-faced college grad looking to make her mark in the world in The Nanny Diaries. Annie stumbles upon a job as a nanny for a rich Upper East Side family in New York City. Her employer, simply named Mrs. X (Laura Linney) to protect her identity, becomes the movie’s devil wearing Prada.
A job as a nanny seems unlikely for a college grad, but as Annie points out, she has all the qualifications rich people want — she’s white, single and educated. Annie’s mother is pushing her into some kind of lucrative career in business, but Annie balks. Anthropology is where her heart lies, but she’s not quite sure how to make a career of it. She thinks observing how the other half lives will make an interesting case study.
Mr. and Mrs. X live in a high-society Fifth Avenue apartment. Mr. X (Paul Giamatti) spends most of his time at the office, not only to work but to have an affair with a colleague. Mrs. X spends her time at the spa, shopping and attending social events, leaving her little time to take care of her 5-year-old son Grayer (Nicholas Art).
Annie, who simply becomes Nanny, largely because of laziness on the part of her employers to learn her real name, is responsible for Grayer. She must make sure he practices his French, goes to art museums and eats only healthy food.
Linney’s portrayal of Mrs. X is dead-on, and really the only reason the movie is worth watching. You hate her for her lack of respect toward people beneath her, like nannies and maids. At the same time, you feel sorry for her as she desperately tries to hold on to a marriage that is crumbling before her eyes.
Johansson doesn’t quite portray Annie as I had imagined. She’s a lot of the reason that the movie is so bland. A pretty face, yes. However, she’s not very engaging and not very believable as a nanny.
The blandness is not completely Johansson’s fault. The movie’s writers and directors, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (best known for American Splendor), don’t quite seem sure of what to do with Annie’s love interest, Harvard Hottie (Chris Evans), who lives in the same building as her employer. Thus, the scenes between them don’t fit into the movie very well. Alicia Keys plays the obligatory Best Friend and is wasted because her character has no personality and shows up only when Annie needs to complain about her job.
The movie really doesn’t address anything new. Rich people have nannies and they often don’t treat them very nicely. Not exactly a big shock. The Nanny Diaries is a tame look at a clash of the classes. The real movie lies in the story of Mrs. X and the women who need hired help to raise their children while they’re off at the spa and spending their rich husband’s money on new wardrobes. ••
Movie Grade: C