I expected this one to be horrible but still decided to watch it because the original 'Adventures in Babysitting' starring Elisabeth Shue has been one of my favorite '80s comedies for many years. Surprisingly, this new take on the story is not too bad for a Disney Channel remake.
The lead actresses Sabrina Carpenter and Sofia Carson have great on- screen presence and they did try to make something original and not just copy from the classic movie. The filmmakers modernized the story and changed a lot of things like adding new characters and sub-plots, which can be a good thing but is not always a good thing in the case of this movie. Admittedly, a mere remake of the original movie probably wouldn't work today. It just has that certain '80s charm that couldn't be recaptured nowadays. It's a time capsule. So changes and updates were necessary.
Even though this remake tries to be different and modern, it doesn't always succeed. For instance, the fun blues number from the original was replaced with a rather ridiculous hip hop song. I certainly would have preferred to hear the "Babysitting Blues" instead, which was done by blues man Albert Collins in the original movie with Elisabeth Shue singing lead. Sabrina Carpenter certainly has enough charisma to deliver a performance as charming as Elisabeth Shue's. Maybe they could have gotten a contemporary blues rock musician like Jack White to take on Albert Collin's role. That would have been something! Oh well, the blues is probably considered to old-fashioned for the young audience Disney is aiming at.
Being original with a remake is always commendable but they overdid it a bit with 'Adventures in Babysitting.' They shouldn't have dropped or changed some of the most memorable scenes from the original movie that are its heart and soul. They made the movie the classic it is today. This remake can't capture the greatness of the original because you don't even recognize it anymore. Too much was changed. It is still worth a watch, though.
The lead actresses Sabrina Carpenter and Sofia Carson have great on- screen presence and they did try to make something original and not just copy from the classic movie. The filmmakers modernized the story and changed a lot of things like adding new characters and sub-plots, which can be a good thing but is not always a good thing in the case of this movie. Admittedly, a mere remake of the original movie probably wouldn't work today. It just has that certain '80s charm that couldn't be recaptured nowadays. It's a time capsule. So changes and updates were necessary.
Even though this remake tries to be different and modern, it doesn't always succeed. For instance, the fun blues number from the original was replaced with a rather ridiculous hip hop song. I certainly would have preferred to hear the "Babysitting Blues" instead, which was done by blues man Albert Collins in the original movie with Elisabeth Shue singing lead. Sabrina Carpenter certainly has enough charisma to deliver a performance as charming as Elisabeth Shue's. Maybe they could have gotten a contemporary blues rock musician like Jack White to take on Albert Collin's role. That would have been something! Oh well, the blues is probably considered to old-fashioned for the young audience Disney is aiming at.
Being original with a remake is always commendable but they overdid it a bit with 'Adventures in Babysitting.' They shouldn't have dropped or changed some of the most memorable scenes from the original movie that are its heart and soul. They made the movie the classic it is today. This remake can't capture the greatness of the original because you don't even recognize it anymore. Too much was changed. It is still worth a watch, though.