The Sitter isn't a good movie. It's unoriginal, the immature jokes feel uninspired and this probably won't be anyone's favorite comedy of the year. That said, it isn't necessarily an absolutely terrible movie, either. You'll laugh out loud a few times along the ride, but overall, The Sitter's biggest issue is that it's a comedy that really isn't that funny. If you thought the trailers were hilarious, you'll be disappointed to know that's pretty much a majority of the best jokes.
Jonah Hill stars as... well, the same Jonah Hill you've seen in other comedies. He's overly sarcastic all the time and will go to drastic measures to save his ass. There's really nothing new surrounding him in this film. If you've liked his style of comedy in other movies, odds are you're going to like him yet again, but if you didn't, your mind should be made up about this film and there's no reason to waste your time seeing it.
Sam Rockwell stars as the villain: a crazy drug dealer who wants the protagonist dead. I love Rockwell and think he's a solid actor (Moon!), but I guess there's only so much one can accomplish with such a limited script. I was letdown to see how dull the character was despite the obvious efforts to make him appear unique(although, the on-going best friend remarks were amusing). To make matters worse, the drug connection just makes me draw comparisons to the director's previous movie, Pineapple Express, which completely dominates The Sitter in just about every regard.
Then, there's the children. If you've watched the trailers, you've seen every joke they're going to make for virtually the entire movie. The adopted kid acts anti-social and enjoys blowing stuff up, the girl wants to be a celebrity just to be famous and the boy is socially awkward. At first, some of these jokes are okay but the same formula is repeated over and over and over and over and... well, you get the point. The kids didn't do a poor job in their roles, it's just that (like with Rockwell) the script itself is kind of "meh."
Going into a comedy, you likely expect to have a good time and at the very least, find yourself chuckling every few minutes. That's not the case here. Sure, there's a handful (at most) of good laughs, but overall the movie drags and strives to be deeper than it actually is. The unnecessary sub-plot surrounding a love interest is groan worthy, and the movie tries to cover a good deal of issues facing children, such as dealing with one's sexuality, lashing out at others and fame isn't everything in life. I'll give some degree of credit for attempting to address those topics, but for the most part, they feel forced and it's hard to believe they could have such a drastic epiphany in such a short period of time (especially at their ages).
In a year with great comedies such as Bridesmaids and Horrible Bosses, The Sitter just doesn't stack up and isn't worth your cash. Also, is it just me, or did anyone else think the overly stereotypical gay dude on roller-skates felt like a C-list version of Terry from RENO 911!?
