Bath sitter

There are few moments when Noah (Jonah Hill) acts completely selfless. Such as when he sexually indulges his girlfriend Marisa (Ari Graynor) in the hopes that she might eventually return the favor. But otherwise, there's little to persuade Noah, a couch potato of the particularly stubborn variety, to leave his home comfort zone for once. But in a rare burst of selflessness, he agrees to babysit the children of the attractive Mrs. Pedulla (Erin Daniels), who has arranged a blind date for his distraught mother that would otherwise have to be canceled. But his hopes of spending a relaxing evening in front of the TV and still getting paid for it are quickly dashed when he meets the three kids. 13-year-old Slater (Max Records) is constantly plagued by anxiety attacks, cheeky Blithe (Landry Bender) just won't stop wearing makeup and Rodrigò (Kevin Hernandez), adopted from Mexico, loves blowing up toilets with firecrackers. It's hard enough keeping the three of them under control at the Pedullas' house. But when Noah gets a call from Marisa promising him long-overdue sex if he gets her some cocaine from a dealer friend, he decides to pack the kids into the family carriage and take them to the darkest corner of New York - not a good idea, as will soon become apparent...<refx>N</x>In 2008, director David Gordon Green delivered a real surprise hit with the stoner comedy Pineapple Express, which revealed a lot of comedic potential. But already its successor Your Highness, which was only released on DVD in this country, could only reach the quality of its predecessor in a few moments. While Pineapple Express was somehow charming and original despite its crude humor, Your Highness relied almost exclusively on unfunny fecal humor and flat sex jokes. But since David Gordon Green also has his fingers in the pie on the highly acclaimed comedy series Eastbound and Down, and earlier films (All the real Girls, Snow Angels) had plenty of positive things to offer, it could at least be hoped that Your Highness was a crude slip. However, the director has completely dashed that hope with Bad Sitter.

Not only is the humour of the thankfully fairly short comedy at its lowest ebb, before it comes to a politically correct finale at the end that is not suitably saccharine to the crudeness of the gags. The barely amusing jokes are then served up almost exclusively by unsympathetic characters. Of course, they all have their good points, which ultimately win out over all the idiocy of the previous 75 minutes. But on balance, egoist Noah, coke-nosed Marisa, brat Blithe or deranged checker Rodrigò are not characters you really want to spend much time with. Max Records, known from Wo die wilden Kerle wohnen (Where the wild guys live), is a real delight as Slater, who is plagued by self-doubt and fears. But there is not much positive to be gained from this character either. A small ray of hope is Sam Rockwell as a completely crazy dealer. He can then provide for the one or other laugh, whereby the whole thing ends in the end then also in completely over-excited chaos, what also Sam Rockwell can no longer save.

It must not always be humor of the fine-spiritual variety. Sometimes even crude slapstick is a lot of fun and even raunchy gags can be damn funny. But what was delivered here is simply not funny, but just flat. The whole thing is then also presented by the actors, especially by - you may not believe it after this movie - Oscar-nominated Jonah Hill, extremely bored. Admittedly, I found myself smirking at some scenes and once even laughing outright. But even more often, I rolled my eyes in annoyance and wished that babysitter and his dimwitted hellspawn to hell. As much as I jumped on the Pineapple Express and as much as I was willing to overlook the many flaws in Your Highness, it's hard to forgive David Gordon Green for this misstep. Therefore: you can safely save your money for this babysitter!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp