For someone who (sadly) reads very little, I can distinctly remember devouring both The Devil Wears Prada and The Nanny Diaries around the same time.  And while I thoroughly enjoyed both novels, it was hard not to notice the extreme similarities.  (Hard-edged female boss rules life of naive employee and makes her life miserable with annoying tasks).  Only difference?  Prada was set at Runway magazine….while Nanny played out in a posh New York apartment.  But while the two books were practically identical in plot, make no mistake—the film versions are miles apart in execution.

In retrospect, I knew Nanny was bound to go wrong just from the early trailers.  I feared the film would be too light-hearted to deliver the right level of frustration and coldness that I came to expect from my difficult boss storylines.  Nevertheless, I held out hope that the movie would be so much more.  How could a film with two such talented actresses not be good?  How could a book full of juicy content not translate well on the big screen?  If Devil could be successful, why not Nanny?

It’s always unsettling when you know a movie has strayed from one of your beloved books, but its a reality that you many times can come to accept.  And though I (supposedly) entered this film with an open mind, I was sadly disappointed from Scene One.  For a second, I thought I had accidentally stepped into a showing of A Night at the Museum.

The decision to make the Scarlett Johansson‘s character (Annie) an anthropology major unfortunately spilled over the rest of the movie in distracting and corny ways.  Annie spends much her time analyzing New York stereotypes and comparing them to ancient civilizations.  (It strongly reminded me of the movie Mean Girls when Lindsay Lohan equated her fellow students to animals in the wild).  The use of narration should be handled carefully—and in the case of Nanny, it cast a too-whimsical tone to the film.  And don’t let me get started on the fantasy umbrella sequences…

Thankfully, the movie did improve towards the middle…but it was not enough and a bit too late.  The film lacked the proper amount of tension needed between the two leads.  After Annie’s busy first day of work, Mrs. X (Laura Linney) seems to go absent for quite some time only to reemerge out of nowhere.  Additionally, the son (played by a terrible child actor) should have been a more troublesome character.

To be fair, this movie had the disadvantage of coming after 2006’s Devil and actress Laura Linney had the unfortunate task of following Meryl Streep.  In Linney’s defense, she does her best with the character—though she could have used more screen time.  Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson was simply okay.  She never gave me any reason to feel sorry for her in this job (though I should fault the screenplay).  And while I understood her concern for the child, I didn’t know why she was to be there to begin with.

I’d like to think that this adaptation could work for those oblivious to Devil, but I’d also like to think that audiences have better standards.  If you love the cattiness of a good workplace novel, I suggest (re)reading the book.

Director(s): Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini (the same two behind American Splendor
Starring:  Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Chris Evans, Paul Giamatti, Alicia Keys
Rating: PG-13 (surprising, since I don’t remember anything offensive)
Running Time: 105 minutes