Adventures In Babysitting

A fun late-night-in-the-big-city adventure, a warmup project for Chris Columbus' Home Alone three years later, and a nostalgic trip for 1980s movies where Crooks In The Big City were the antagonist.

I saw this back in the 80s, probably on VHS? I don't remember. What do I remember? Elisabeth Shue lip-syncing The Crystals "And Then He Kissed Me" as the camera dollied in, a very Scorsese moment - I bet Columbus was proud of himself. The obnoxious neighbor boy blowing his mouth out on the sliding glass door; The camel-hair coat Shue wears; Shue singing the blues onstage, and that's about it.

Eleven years after Taxi Driver, the idea that cities are inherently dangerous and corrupt is not overtly racist, but it's certainly the subtext. Still, not the most racist portrayal of criminals and the homeless I've ever seen: the criminals and homeless are about half white, half black; the biggest part for a Black person is the Car Thief With A Heart of Gold. 

Elisabeth Shue is gorgeous, with some spectacular Eighties Blonde hair that does not look dated to me. Date is approximate, on Disney Plus