THE NANNY DIARIES
RYAN: It’s a cross between “Mary Poppins” and “The Devil Wears Prada,” and it’s called?
CAROLINE: “The Nanny Diaries.” And you liked it more than I did.
RYAN: I sure did. I liked it so much in fact that I might see it again in the theater.
CAROLINE: Don’t get me wrong, the movie had its moments. I was expecting to be disappointed in Scarlett Johansson, but she was actually quite good. I could feel her exasperation.
RYAN: I loved how average looking she was throughout the entire film.
CAROLINE: She’s still pretty saucy though. There were a few scenes where she was all duded up and looked out-and-out hot.
RYAN: Fine, but for the most part, she looked completely average. She’s not emaciated, and her wardrobe was very Plain Jane.
CAROLINE: Well, they did that on purpose obviously, because she’s supposed to look like a normal girl. But I found the friendship between her and Alicia Keys completely bizarre and implausible. They had no chemistry and they were such opposites. Alicia Keys plays this hipster party girl, and Scar Jo is all driven and career-oriented for a job in finance. They would never be friends in real life.
RYAN: Yeah, Alicia Keys was poorly cast. I would have much rather seen Rachel McAdams in that role.
CAROLINE: Hell, I’d like to see Rachel McAdams in anything.
RYAN: But the most brilliant casting was Laura Linney as Mrs. X.
CAROLINE: This just in – she’s a good actress.
RYAN: She’s good in everything she does, but for some reason in this movie she’s particularly great. It might have been her hair and makeup. I’m gonna say that she was as good in this movie as Meryl Streep was in “Devil Wears Prada.”
CAROLINE: They got her look down so well. I don’t think she has Botox, but it really looked like she did. She had great helmet hair and a bitchy attitude and her face looked all taut and pulled just like a real Upper East Side trophy wife.
RYAN: I loved the anthropology metaphor and how they did the museum dioramas to show what life in Manhattan is like.
CAROLINE: I liked them in the beginning, but then it started to get stale. And similar things have already been done in “Mean Girls” and “Animal Husbandry.”
RYAN: Oh, I forgot about those, so it was fresh for me.
CAROLINE: Let’s talk about the super hot Chris Evans. He plays Scar Jo’s love interest and they have some very cute scenes. I don’t know if I bought him 100% in this role, but he was good enough.
RYAN: He worked for me as the Harvard Hottie. And I loved Paul Giamatti as Mr. X. He really nailed his role as someone you love to hate. So what’s your bottom line?
CAROLINE: Overall, this movie fell a little flat for me. Something wasn’t quite right. The music was a little weird and even the color seemed a little off, or not bright enough. It didn’t have the life I wanted it to have. But it’s decent. If you’re a fan of Scarlett Johansson, you won’t be disappointed.
RYAN: I didn’t have the same problems with it that you had. I thought it had some magic. I loved the effects with the umbrella and I loved the Mary Poppins music. Some of the musical scoring was a little awkward; I’ll give you that. But it’s an entertaining flick, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
CAROLINE: Ooh, and the kid who plays the little boy she baby-sits is totally adorable.
RYAN: I’d baby-sit him.