In The Nanny Diaries, Scarlett Johansson plays Nanny, a character eager to begin her life as a nanny to a wealthy Manhattan family, the Xs, played by Laura Linney (who I’m not sure is mean enough for the role of Mrs. X) and Paul Giamatti (who is completely absent from the trailer). She gets all the luxuries of playing house on the Upper East Side, without the responsibility of having to pay for the lifestyle. It’s all very The Devil Wears Prada meets Mary Poppins (minus the singing chimneysweeps). What’s not to love?

Well, a lot, apparently. The parents of her young charge are never around, she is constantly humiliated in front of the could-he-be-any-cuter boy who lives in the same building, Mrs. X tells her to her face that she isn’t good enough for said boy, and she is being spied on through a nanny-cam installed in a teddy bear. What is Nanny to do? She can’t quit, or so she says, for she has grown to love the little boy she cares for and she won’t leave him with parents who seem to have forgotten he even exists.

The Nanny Diaries is based on the 2002 best-selling novel of the same name. I have read the novel, so it’s impossible for me to watch this trailer and not make comparisons to the book. The book was written as a comedy-drama that often focuses on how absentee parents can affect a child’s development. The film, on the other hand, is being billed as strictly a comedy. Oh, those wacky rich folks! They’re just so busy being fabulous that Nanny gets into all sorts of wacky hijinx while caring for their son. But wait…are neglectful parents something to laugh at? Is a twenty-something girl unwittingly thrust into the role of “mother” really that funny?

Since I love to see films based on books I’ve read and play the compare/contrast game, I’ll see this one, but I’ll wait to RENT IT with my boyfriend (you may know him as Netflix).

The Nanny Diaries is rated PG-13 and opens on April 20. (Official Site)

UPDATE: The new release date for The Nanny Diaries is September 7, 2007.

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