THREE MEN & A BABY / ADV IN BABYSITTING-2PK (DVD) (SIDE BY SIDE) DVD

Three Men and a Baby
Three Men and a Baby is an Americanized remake of the 1985 French comedy hit Three Men and a Cradle. Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg play three upwardly mobile New York bachelors who share an apartment. Their even-keel lifestyle is thrown out of whack when a young woman leaves a baby on their doorstep, suspecting that film director Danson is the father. The balance of the film is devoted to milking as much humor as possible out of the situation of three urbane young men trying to play nursemaid with nary a clue of what they're doing (at one point, a desperate Selleck offers Guttenberg a thousand dollars if Guttenberg will change a diaper). A subplot involving drug dealers is thrown in to sustain audience interest after our trio of heroes become accustomed to a baby around the apartment. "Urban legend" aficionados please note: That cardboard cutout of Ted Danson briefly glimpsed in one scene of Three Men and a Baby is not the ghost of a little boy who died in the bachelors' apartment before filming started. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adventures in Babysitting
Teenager Chris Parker (Elisabeth Shue) would rather party with her boyfriend, but when her beau breaks their date she reluctantly accepts a babysitting job. It isn't all TV and icebox-raiding when Chris' best friend Brenda (Penelope Ann Miller) calls her to announce that she's stranded at the bus station. With her youthful charges in tow (one of whom, 15-year-old Brad (Keith Coogan), has a hopeless crush on the babysitter), Chris heads into downtown Chicago to go to Brenda's rescue. Thus begins a roller coaster ride of comic mishaps, unexpected perils and hairbreadth escapes. IN one bit, blues singer Albert Collins refuses to allow Chris and company to leave the nightclub they've wandered into until they agree to sing along with a song borrowed from, of all things the 1939 B-picture Nancy Drew, Reporter! . Screenwriter and Steven Spielberg protégé Chris Columbus made his directorial debut with Adventures in Babysitting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Tom Selleck as Peter Mitchell Steve Guttenberg as Michael Kellam, Cartoonist Ted Danson as Jack Holden, actor Nancy Travis as Sylvia, Actress Margaret Colin as Rebecca Philip Bosco as Det. Melkowitz Celeste Holm as Mrs. Holden Michelle Blair as Mary Paul Guilfoyle as Vince Cynthia Harris as Mrs. Hathaway Derek de Lint as Jan Clopats, Conductor Elisabeth Shue as Chris Parker Maia Brewton as Sara Anderson Keith Coogan as Brad Anderson Anthony Rapp as Daryl Coopersmith Vincent D'Onofrio as Dawson Calvin Levels as Joe Gibb Penelope Ann Miller as Brenda George Newbern as Dan John Ford Noonan as John Pruitt Bradley Whitford as Mike Tedwell John Chandler as Bleak

Crew Gregory Keen - Art Director Steven Saxton - Associate Producer Janet Hirshenson - Casting Jane Jenkins - Casting Judith R. Gellman - Costume Designer Chris Columbus - Director Raja Gosnell - Editor Franz Steininger - Editor Frederic Steinkamp - Editor Michael Kamen - Composer (Music Score) Barbara Dunphy - Production Designer Todd Hallowell - Production Designer Ric Waite - Cinematographer Lynda Obst - Producer Debra Hill - Producer David Lee - Sound/Sound Designer Chris Columbus - Screenwriter David Simkins - Screenwriter Gregory Keen - Art Director Steven Saxton - Associate Producer Janet Hirshenson - Casting Jane Jenkins - Casting Judith R. Gellman - Costume Designer Chris Columbus - Director Raja Gosnell - Editor Franz Steininger - Editor Frederic Steinkamp - Editor Michael Kamen - Composer (Music Score) Barbara Dunphy - Production Designer Todd Hallowell - Production Designer Ric Waite - Cinematographer Lynda Obst - Producer Debra Hill - Producer David Lee - Sound/Sound Designer Chris Columbus - Screenwriter David Simkins - Screenwriter

Three Men and a Baby
One of the many American remakes of French comedies that populated multiplexes in the late eighties, Three Men and a Baby sets up a standard sitcom situation then trades on the star power of its cast to make it work. While the men's inability to immediately grasp the subtleties of parenting makes for easy laughs, it is their interaction with one another that gives the film the energy that helped make it a smash hit. The film has a 1940's feel to it, and it is not difficult to imagine Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Danny Kaye doing this material in black and white. There is nothing original in the film, but the actors are comfortable with this material and they sell it like the professionals they are. The movie became one of the most successful home videos in history, partially due to an urban legend about the appearance of a ghost in the film. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
 

Adventures in Babysitting
The surprise hit Adventures in Babysitting was what catapulted Elisabeth Shue from throwaway roles, like Ralph Macchio's girlfriend in The Karate Kid, to the status of legitimate teenybopper star with a fitness for light comedy. In fact, until her Oscar-nominated turn in Leaving Las Vegas, this breezy adventure constituted Shue's most recognizable accomplishment, which may say more about her subsequent choices than the cinematic durability of her babysitter extraordinaire. Still, a good escapist potboiler like this tends to stick in the memory, especially when it's spiced up by preteen crushes and an infectious candy-coated sensibility. Like many other formulaic comedies that exceed the modest goal of supplying inoffensive family entertainment, Adventures cruises along on a combination of smart writing, energetic directing, and, perhaps most important, performances that are effortlessly familiar. As co-screenwriter and director, Chris Columbus bears a hefty responsibility for whatever lingering charms the film has, as it builds pleasingly on the child-themed adventures he penned in Gremlins and The Goonies, as well as previewing his Home Alone movies. In the capable hands of Columbus and Shue, babysitting has never been less mundane. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DDS: Dolby Digital Surround Additional Features: cc Three Men and a Baby: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound Three Men and a Baby: French and Spanish subtitles Adventures in Babysitting: French language track Adventures in Babysitting: 2.0 Dolby Surround Widescreen (1.85:1) DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 2 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 204 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Three Men and a Baby 1. Opening Titles/Peter's Birthday Party [13:43] 2. A Delicate Package [9:05] 3. Baby Doodle [8:39] 4. It's a Baby! [7:35] 5. The Wrong Package [16:00] 6. Jack's Turn [13:01] 7. We'll Do It Our Way [9:21] 8. Daddy's Little Girl [5:18] 9. Sylvia Returns [6:18] 10. Four Is Better Than Three/End Credits [13:19] Side #2 -- Adventures in Babysitting 1. Opening Credits/Bad News 2. The Adventures Begin 3. A Distress Call 4. The More the Merrier 5. Blowout on the Expressway 6. Handsome John Pruitt 7. Grand Theft Auto 8. The Chop Shop 9. Over and Out 10. Singing the Blues 11. Rapid Transit Rumble 12. Emergency! 13. The Frat Party 14. A Slow Dance 15. Sara Meets Thor 16. An Awkward Anniversary 17. On the Run 18. Inside the Cocktail Party 19. The Rescue 20. Hurrying on Home 21. The Greatest Night So Far 22. End Credits