The Perfect Nanny Movie Review

Never mind the knife: The hot number on the cover of The Perfect Nanny DVD is the perfect nanny.

Alas, I don't know who that chick is, but it sure ain't Tracy Nelson, who stars as a mental hospital escapee who subsequently masquerades as a nanny. And poor widower Bruce Boxleitner is totally clueless about our nanny's ultraviolent streak, even after body #5 turns up. Why all the rage? Nelson's nanny is obsessed with cheesy romance novels, and she's looking for an idyllic life like the ones found in those pages. Of course, she's a bit off-kilter, so her plan to marry the rich doctor falls apart in relatively short order.

Pulled from the long tradition of crazy-woman thrillers, The Perfect Nanny is fully predictable and unsurprising. I was predicting lines of dialogue before they were ever delivered. Characters mutter asides to themselves in virtually every scene, and while the actors at least keep up an air of professionalism throughout, the overall result isn't terribly compelling. At least it's not a total loss: Katherine Helmond is always welcome, and watch for Dana Barron (the original Audrey Griswold from Vacation) as the Lewis's daughter.