Barely Poppins
"The Nanny Diaries"
2½
out of four
Opens today
Starring As
Scarlett Johansson Annie Braddock
Laura Linney Mrs. X
Paul Giamatti Mr. X
Nicholas Reese Art Grayer
Directed and written by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini; based on the novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. Produced by Richard N. Gladstein. A Weinstein Company release. Rated PG-13 (language). Running time: 105 minutes.
"The Nanny Diaries" offers us a whimsical Mary Poppins motif, Scarlett Johansson's smoldering sexual charisma and Laura Linney's superbly brittle performance as a rusting trophy wife.
These sterling elements prop up a spotty comedy of manners that, despite an engaging cast, doesn't approach the edgy "American Splendor," the last movie from filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini.
In "The Nanny Diaries," a brunette Johansson plays Annie Braddock, a recent NYU grad looking for a job. From a blue-collar New Jersey neighborhood, Annie imagines the New York denizens she sees -- especially the rich, self-centered wives on the Upper East Side -- as part of a freeze-frame diorama in a museum.
During a walk through the park, Annie merely mentions her name. A nearby wife (Linney) thinks she said "Nanny," and instantly hires her on the spot, without references or an FBI background check.
Annie goes to work for the woman, whom she refers to as "Mrs. X." She becomes the nanny to Mrs. X's little boy Grayer (Nicholas Reese Art), an attention-deprived brat treated like a hot potato by Mrs. X, who would prefer to cruise gift shops rather than spend time with him.
As in a classic fish-out-of-water story, Annie enters a world of wealth and privilege, a luminous place where compassion and love have been replaced by narcissism and materialism.
Annie quickly sees that Grayer's dad (Paul Giamatti as a perfect jerk) has no real interest in his son or home life. He has deals to wrap up and a bimbo from Chicago to wrap her arms around him.
Gradually, as we might expect, Annie breaks through to Grayer, who becomes closer to his nanny than he ever has his own mother. This triggers a rivalry between Annie and Mrs. X, and there can't be a good outcome.
"The Nanny Diaries" comes from a book written by two real nannies who obviously knew their subject. In adapting the book to the screen, the filmmakers recast Annie as a young woman searching for her identity, and hiding her job from her mom (Donna Murphy), a single nurse who utters advice such as "No man's going to squash your dreams!"
This extra subplot feels tacked on, as does the obligatory romance between Annie and the hunky guy downstairs she calls "Harvard Hottie" (appropriately played by Human Torch star Chris Evans -- coincidence?).
As vague as her relationship with Harvard Hottie might be, it's much better defined than Annie's relationship with her friend Lynnette (a wasted Alicia Keys).
"Nanny Diaries" has its chilling moments, particularly when Linney's dysfunctional Mrs. X demands Annie support whatever fantasy she concocts to keep herself in a cocoon of denial about her husband, son and self.
Still, this cinematic critique gets undermined by a phony, quick-fix finale where negative attitudes and behavior magically disappear after the heroine delivers a diatribe (to a teddy bear cam, no less) that rips the failings of the Upper East Side moms.
Apparently, Annie didn't pay much attention to her spiritual mentor Mary Poppins, or she would have realized that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.