The Nanny Diaries (2007)

33% of critics liked it
(129 reviews)
52% of users liked it
(138,740 ratings)

Adapted from the best-selling novel, the whimsical, heartwarming comedy The Nanny Diaries concerns Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson), a recent college graduate from New Jersey whose nurse mother makes an unsuccessful bid to pressure her into a white-collared business career. Sidetracking this path… More Adapted from the best-selling novel, the whimsical, heartwarming comedy The Nanny Diaries concerns Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson), a recent college graduate from New Jersey whose nurse mother makes an unsuccessful bid to pressure her into a white-collared business career. Sidetracking this path for more colorful pursuits, Annie accepts a position as nanny and domestic servant for a wealthy couple on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, known only as "The Xs" (Paul Giamatti and a heavily coiffed and accoutred Laura Linney). Annie has her first real taste of servant life when she arrives at the family's residence and promptly sinks into Mrs. X's luxury tub, but is soon shuttled off to her own bare-bones room. Face to face, for the first time in her life, with the vast socioeconomic differences between herself and others, Annie must spend her days catering to Mrs. X's every whim, navigating the emotional land mines set by the domineering Mr. X, and tending to the demands of the couple's mischievous and bratty son, Grayer (Nicholas Art). The situation grows a bit more awkward and sticky when Annie begins to fall for a young man who lives near the Xs, whom she's nicknamed Harvard Hottie (Chris Evans), leading her to seriously reevaluate her career goals and priorities. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Written By: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 24, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Dec 4, 2007
Studio: MGM

Critic Reviews

Joe Baltake, Passionate Moviegoer
'The Nanny Diaries': Huh? It's supposed to be a comedy?
David Denby, New Yorker
The Nanny Diaries, despite many bright moments and a superior level of craftsmanship, is now a flabby urban fairy tale.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
This is the sort of ho-hum production that will likely seem less disappointing on a smaller screen.
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Whatever its faults are, The Nanny Diaries is hardly the disaster that the gossipmongers -- including, perhaps, even the studio that made it -- want us to believe.
Joanne Kaufman, Wall Street Journal
A clever, satiric novel turned dull-witted movie.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
A film that is even more lightweight and clichéd than the fluff that was the best-selling book.
Fernando F. Croce, CinePassion
For viewers who thought The Devil Wears Prada was way too hard-hitting
Heather Huntington, ReelzChannel.com
Stalled out in mediocre-land, and choices like the narration, the overbearingly cutesy art direction and costume design, and even preserving the convention of calling them Mr. and Mrs. X pulled you out of the story and dragged it down.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Where's Mary Poppins when you need her?
Alonso Duralde, MSNBC
Here's hoping that the very talented [Shari] Springer [Berman] and [Robert] Pulcini get a crack at a script that's worthy of their talents for their third time at bat.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...can't help but come off as something of a disappointment...
Brandon Fibbs, Colorado Springs Gazette
By painting with too broad a brush, Nanny gets laughs at the expense of any sort of deeper commentary the filmmakers were obviously hoping to achieve.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Suficientemente divertido e tocante para merecer uma recomendação %u2013 mesmo que reconheçamos claramente o maniqueísmo empregado para alcançar estes efeitos.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
In his commentary, exec-producer Harvey Weinstein says he offered a $100,000 bounty for the identity of Mrs. X, but in Confessions from the Original Nannies, the book's authors insist she was a fictional amalgam.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Girlfriends Scarlett and Alicia Keys rule, in this girl fight class warfare class act.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bethany M

Quite enjoyed this film! It's one that make you feel good and happy. A must see!
Dead A

I wouldn't say this completely blew me away or something, but it was enjoyable. Though "flying around with a <font color="red">red</font> umbrella" was a bit weird and there were more cheesiness involved (which I don't feel like explaining and… More
I wouldn't say this completely blew me away or something, but it was enjoyable. Though "flying around with a <font color="red">red</font> umbrella" was a bit weird and there were more cheesiness involved (which I don't feel like explaining and it was tolerable enough to forgive), but this wasn't bad after all. The story reflects the reality and that's what I like about it most. It gets pretty touchy at some moments.
Spencer S

I loved the book, so I was open minded towards the adaptation. Without the dry wit and sarcasm though, it feels like another bad script.
Alice S

Good performances, sweet story with requisite cringe factor. Alicia Keys' speaking voice is simply delicious.
Lorenzo v

Johansson doesn't have plenty to do here except to become a very frustrated nanny who teaches her charge how to enjoy life and break unreasonable rules, something every child would definitely want to do given the innate rebellious streak within, especially from a spoiled brat.… More
Johansson doesn't have plenty to do here except to become a very frustrated nanny who teaches her charge how to enjoy life and break unreasonable rules, something every child would definitely want to do given the innate rebellious streak within, especially from a spoiled brat. The comedy's quite predictable too, and one overused sequence involves an umbrella that looks suspiciously borrowed from Citigroup for a very tongue-in-cheek Mary Poppins homage. It doesn't have any genuinely funny laugh out loud moments, and got bogged down by a cursory romantic tangle with Chris Evan's Harvard Hottie. Paul Giamatti lends a helping hand to his American Splendour filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini as the dad who's always unavailable. But the bottom line here, is a reflection for parents if they are doing all they can to provide a relatively normal childhood for their children, and of course, not to neglect them, and definitely not toss them primarily to the care of nannies.
Nicki M

Not the best thing I ever saw, but considering my total loathing of the book, I was surprised to be able to sit through the thing and only did so because I rented it for free and decided to give Scarlett the benefit of the doubt. Well, it wasn't as horrid as it could have been,… More
Not the best thing I ever saw, but considering my total loathing of the book, I was surprised to be able to sit through the thing and only did so because I rented it for free and decided to give Scarlett the benefit of the doubt. Well, it wasn't as horrid as it could have been, although it was a big stretch of the imagination to try and see that child as cute in any way, but it is watchable (once), probably thanks to Scarlett.
Chris G

The first thing you will say when watching this is that "I didn't know Paul Giamatti is in this". An aspiring executive/anthropologist fresh out of NYU decides to take some time off and become a nanny, documenting the entire situation for research purposes, but begins… More
The first thing you will say when watching this is that "I didn't know Paul Giamatti is in this". An aspiring executive/anthropologist fresh out of NYU decides to take some time off and become a nanny, documenting the entire situation for research purposes, but begins to feel for the young ward she watches and his Upper East Side mother. This is your typical chick flick fare. A little above average and Paul Giamatti is great as the asshole husband, but other than that...
Bannan i

Better than expected...
Rachel F

This was really cute. It has a great, unique storyline and a really satisfying ending. I liked it.
Red L

Scarlett Johansson plays nanny to a horrible couple (the X'es) with a cute kid. Eventually she leaves, but not before explaining the error of Mrs. X's ways who reforms and lives happily ever after. There is a bit of kitsch in this movie!
Daniel P

Everytime this movie did something normal (Mrs. X [Laura Linney] saying "stay out of the master bedroom") and prompted some prediction for what the startling plot wrinkle might be (maybe she's secretly a ridiculously kinky sex fiend!), it turned out to be nothing.… More
Everytime this movie did something normal (Mrs. X [Laura Linney] saying "stay out of the master bedroom") and prompted some prediction for what the startling plot wrinkle might be (maybe she's secretly a ridiculously kinky sex fiend!), it turned out to be nothing. That's just one example of many, but every hint that it was going to get more interesting was a huge let down (and no, the rest of the instances have nothing to do with sex, though it would have at least made some of the movie good). On top of this, there was way, way too much narration... it was like being spoon-fed valium. As a curiosity, we watched the special features with the authors, and in short, it sounds like they just cashed in and allowed the studio to do whatever the hell it wanted to do with the acclaimed novel, so long as the royalties kept showing up. A true shame, as good performances by Linney, Scarlett Johansson and Paul Giamatti were all for naught in this snore-worthy, cliched domestic pap... and were all the Mary Poppins references _really_ necessary??
Dean M

Very good and sweet comedy. Scarlett Johansson and Laura Linney are both very good value, and the barbed jokes at the expense of... vacuous society women mostly hit the spot.
Sanjaya &

Never predicted that this movie was this bad.... I thought this will be a great movie, they have Scarlett in this movie... she's lovely... The story not too well raised and the plot is too usual even it was good to reveal that the movie tells about the issue that happens right… More
Never predicted that this movie was this bad.... I thought this will be a great movie, they have Scarlett in this movie... she's lovely... The story not too well raised and the plot is too usual even it was good to reveal that the movie tells about the issue that happens right here right now i the city. But it's a little dissapointing act from Scarlett, i can't believe this girl already have some Golden Globe nominations... The great acting showed by Laura Linney, she deserved an Oscar challenge... Paul Giamatti did great too... But stills no entertains at all...
Manu G

Great movie indeed. Well loving the talented Scarlett ain't so bad. Is the new age Mary Poppins jajaja!!! A 21-year-old New York University student becomes a nanny to a family on the Upper East Side who turns out to be the family from hell.The story of the journey of Annie… More
Great movie indeed. Well loving the talented Scarlett ain't so bad. Is the new age Mary Poppins jajaja!!! A 21-year-old New York University student becomes a nanny to a family on the Upper East Side who turns out to be the family from hell.The story of the journey of Annie Braddock, a young woman from a working-class neighborhood in New Jersey, struggling to understand her place in the world. Fresh out of college, she gets tremendous pressure from her nurse mother to find a respectable position in the business world although Annie would prefer to trade in her blackberry for an anthropologist's field diary. Through a serendipitous meeting, Annie ends up in the elite and ritualistic culture of Manhattan's Upper East Side as remote from Annie's suburban New Jersey upbringing as life in an Amazon tribal village. Choosing to duck out of real life, Annie accepts the position as a nanny for a wealthy family, referred to as simply "the X's." She quickly learns that life is not very rosy on the other side of the tax bracket, as she must cater to the every whim of Mrs. X and her precocious son Grayer, while attempting to avoid the formidable Mr. X. Life becomes even more complicated when Annie falls for a gorgeous Park Avenue Hottie, and she's forced to explore her identity as never before.
Leigh R

Heartwarming and sweet and funny to boot. I thought this was the best I have watched in the last week. And the little boy is so adorable...
Keysha H

This is a really cute and funny movie. Highly recommend.
Jeff B

Early on in the dirty diaper of a comedy called The Nanny Diaries (hereafter called ?X?), a New Jersey woman describes her ex-husband as having taken up in ?a double-wide in Scranton? as if it were the fifth circle of Dante?s Inferno. Long the ashtray of popular culture (thank you,… More
Early on in the dirty diaper of a comedy called The Nanny Diaries (hereafter called ?X?), a New Jersey woman describes her ex-husband as having taken up in ?a double-wide in Scranton? as if it were the fifth circle of Dante?s Inferno. Long the ashtray of popular culture (thank you, Kingpin), Scranton can rest assured that it no longer the lowest rung on the zeitgeist ladder. No, dear readers, this prized distinction clearly now belongs to the uncannily bland ?X.? What begins as a winning sociological assessment from the team that brought audiences the hilariously sardonic American Splendor quickly descends into a witless exercise in cutesy cinema. Adapted from Nicola Kraus and Emma McLaughlin?s novel, the PG-13-rated Nanny Diaries follows the hellish experiences of a 21 year-old NYU graduate (Johansson) who signs on to be a nanny for a nameless snooty Upper East Side family (Linney, Paul Giamatti). Directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini begin the adaptation by dressing up ?X? as a literal Museum of Natural History piece?-New York character types as wax figures behind glass. This inspired take on the material actually works quite well until, for some unknown reason, the exercise transforms into a simple and lifeless family/romantic comedy. And just imagine their leading lady (those lips!), the lovely young starlet Johansson (those eyes!), as a nanny (surprise!). Because this reviewer simply could not. It is not that the Lost in Translation star can't act?-it is just difficult to buy Maxim?s ?Sexiest Woman Alive? as X?s dowdy bottom-feeder. Bottom line: Mary Poopings.
Dannielle A

Very creative movie. I enjoyed it through and through. There were humorous parts and heartbreaking parts.
Panta O

[color=darkred][b][size=5]THE NANNY DIARIES (2007)[/size][/b][/color] [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/custom/46/1172546.jpg[/img] [color=red][b][i]Prica se odvija tako sto nam se predstavlja evolucija bebi-siterke kroz vekove sve do upoznavanja sa ANNIE… More
[color=darkred][b][size=5]THE NANNY DIARIES (2007)[/size][/b][/color] [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/custom/46/1172546.jpg[/img] [color=red][b][i]Prica se odvija tako sto nam se predstavlja evolucija bebi-siterke kroz vekove sve do upoznavanja sa ANNIE BRADDOCK - Scarlett Johansson koja jednog dana slucajno srece GRAYER-a - Nicholas Reese Art-a, a preko njega i svoju veliku simpatiju HARVARD HOTTIE - Chris Evans... U formi dokumentarca i kroz muzejsku postavku, sledimo razvoj bebi-siterke u Njujorku. Zasticena vrsta ili zrtva? [img]http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/6/h/O/nannydiariespic3.jpg[/img] Posto u filmu mnoga imena nisu bila vazna, nalazimo tamo i MRS X - Laura Linney, MR X - Paul Giamatti, ali se bar drugarica LYNETTE - Alicia Keys, pojavljuje sa "pravim" imenom... [img]http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/8/h/O/nannydiariespic5.jpg[/img] Komedija koja je u reziji Shari Springer Berman-a i Roberta Pulcinija po njihovom scenariju mogla da bude mnogo bolja... ovako veliki potencijal je na kraju izvetrio! [img]http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/7/h/O/nannydiariespic4.jpg[/img] Smeha ima, ali i praznih momenata kada se nesto treba desiti... a ne desi se! Solidna profesionalna ekipa je ipak na kraju napravila gledljivi film - film u kome se zvezda Scarlett Johansson ipak nije previse istakla! Nazalost... Od mene 6/10...[/i][/b][/color]
Deb S

Scarlett Johansson plays a college student named Annie who has just graduated with a degree in finance. Her goal in life is to be successful but after blowing an interview for a high-corp business, she finds herself working for a rich NYC Upper East end corporate type household who… More
Scarlett Johansson plays a college student named Annie who has just graduated with a degree in finance. Her goal in life is to be successful but after blowing an interview for a high-corp business, she finds herself working for a rich NYC Upper East end corporate type household who wants what is best for their child. Some of her duties include reading the Wall Street Journal and speaking French to the little kid. Her love interest is played by the Harvard Hottie, Chris Evan. SJ decides to use this experience as research for her Anthropology Project. Grammy winner Alicia Keys also stars in this movie as Annie's best friend. Mrs. X played by Laura Linney is excellent as a controlling person who seems to never care for anyone but herself and equally uncaring adulterous self-absorbed husband (Paul Giamatti). They are both extremely demanding employers and horridly neglectful parents at the same time. I like the way the movie handles the subject matter of Upper East Side and Upper West Side of Manhattan, family relationships, the economic-power struggle and the husband-wife conflicts. At the end of the movie......I am left pondering "How can people who have everything be so miserable?"