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Could Scarlett Johansson be any cuter?

I am pretty picky about what movies Teen in Line (age 13) can see. Quite possibly more so than many other parents, particularly regarding sexually suggestive material. I don't want her desensitized to sex at such a young age. I am especially against sex scenes between people who are not married. Call me old fashioned, but I am trying to keep my girls young a little while longer.

For help in determining whether or not my 13 year old can see a PG-13 movie or not, I usually turn to www.kidsinmind.com. This site has been an invaluable resource to our family. The site rates movies on the levels of sex, violence and profanity and then gives a prolific account of specific instances of the occurrences of each contained within the movie. At times, the references are somewhat laughable (“A man’s chest hair is revealed.” Oh, no!), but I would prefer that to the alternative of getting blindsided after already buying the tickets or renting the video. Today’s selection just squeaked by on my Mom-o-meter, based on the review on "Kidsinmind", but it turned it that I found it to be very acceptable overall for our 8th grader (she is young for her grade). Items in the review like, "A woman’s pants are pulled down outside an elevator door," turn out to be the nanny’s young charge “pantsing” (is that a word?!) her, so she’ll lose a race to the apartment. Somewhat racy, yes, but nothing like what I had pictured from the review.

Today’s Selection: Nanny Diaries     

PG-13, Running Time 1 hr, 44 minutes

Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Chris Evans, Alicia Keys

This movie is based on the hugely successful novel of the same name. I have not read the book, but having just seen this movie on video, I will now be racing to the bookstore to grab my copy, as will be Princess in Waiting. Princess in Waiting, Teen in Line and I all L-O-V-E-D loved this movie! Big Strong Man came in on the tail end of the movie, and I am guessing it could have held his attention. However, he may have moved in and out of it while he did other things. Just a “gut feeling”.

The basic premise of this movie is that a young woman graduates from NYU with a degree in Anthropology, thinking she has the world by its tail. She goes for a job interview with a big company in NYC and freezes up - BIG time. She flees the interview, realizing she really doesn't know who she is or what she wants to do with her life. What's new about this, you ask? Well, what's new is what comes next. What's fresh is that she meets Laura Linney's character, uptight, Upper Eastside non-working socialite mother Mrs. X, who believes that she needs a nanny 24/7, merely so she can manage all of her many activities. Sadly, the one who loses in the equation is the child. Through a series of mishaps and stumbling blocks, Annie learns many of life's lessons very quickly, and meets a "Harvard Hottie" along the way. What's not to love? And somehow, the movie is far deeper than I just made it sound!

The directing and screenplay for this movie are inspired, and the Special Features even include an interview with the authors of the book, who by the way, are ADORABLE! (How old does that make me sound?) Shop & Tell (over at Seek the Unique) and I have been going through the rigors of dealing with the up's and down's of writing a book and getting it published, and it was really cool to hear them talk about their experiences of writing the book, the publishing process and then ultimately, getting the book made into a movie.

Final Analysis: 3 ½ Crowns

For other movie reviews by Princess Peg, click here.