THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 22, 1995 TAG: 9508220059
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
IF THE WORLD is not as sunny and as sweet as pictured in ``The Baby-Sitters Club,'' then it should be.
In her phenomenal series of 202 ``Baby-Sitters Club'' books, novelist Ann M. Martin created a world in which random violence, teen pregnancies and drug abuse hardly exist. The books tackle simpler adolescent problems and, in the process, have sold 125 million copies in 19 languages since they first appeared in 1986. The seven girl characters have become the most read-about young women since Nancy Drew.
You'd think the big-screen movie version would have a built-in audience. Producers aren't so sure.
The movie is a kind of modern ``Little Women'' about seven 13-ish girls who band together to form the club of the title - and ultimately put friendship ahead of profits. It provides a brief respite for the most neglected movie audience - pre-teen American girls. Movies featuring young girls are seldom made. The reason is that they so seldom do business. ``A Little Princess'' got some of the best reviews of the year, but it made no money.
This film is refreshing because it never tries to be hip. One would like to think that the girls pictured are a good deal closer to the average than those adolescents usually depicted in movies. (``Clueless'' is a far superior movie on the level of cleverness, comedy and satire, but the girls in this ``club'' may be closer to reality).
If nothing else, the movie introduces a new Virginia star. She is Schuyler Fisk, named for the Virginia town of Schuyler, who is endearingly natural as the club's tomboyish leader, Kristy. Even with her red hair dyed chestnut brown for the part, she still looks a great deal like her Oscar-winning mom, Sissy Spacek. Spacek and her director-husband, Jack Fisk, live near Charlottesville, where Schuyler was busy in community theater before making this movie debut.
Fisk has the best-developed role. Initially, all the girls are given labels. Dawn is the modern flower child who is concerned about a grumpy next-door neighbor. Stacey, ranked as the most popular character, is worried that she's dating an older man (age 17) and perhaps should tell him her age. Mary Anne is Kristy's best friend, a shy type burdened with keeping Kristy's secrets. Claudia, who is in danger of flunking science, is in summer school. The younger members of the club, Mallory and Jessi, get barely any screen time.
The seven merge to operate a summer camp. They do this with remarkably little effort.
Adults are usually benign onlookers, except for Kristy's father, who comes close to being a villain. He returns to town and asks his daughter to keep the fact secret from her mother. Kristy's mother is played by Brooke Adams, her wealthy and loving stepfather by Oscar nominee Bruce Davison (``Longtime Companion'') and her roving father by Peter Horton of the TV show ``thirtysomething.''
The adult contingent is led by Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn (``Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'') as the grumpy-but-eventually-nice neighbor who hates all the noise but becomes a supporter of the girls.
There are so many subplots that the movie eventually becomes disjointed, as if it were a series of books, or TV episodes, strung together. Directed by Melanie Mayron, who played Melissa in ``thirtysomething,'' it is pretty bland - never really rising above a made-for-TV look.
The cast, however, fairly sparkles and makes us believe that the characters are taking their problems seriously.
With a soft focus and a soft heart, the film is thoroughly likable and always pleasant. In a week after a hurricane threat and more of the endless O.J. Simpson trial, it's a welcome visit to a simpler world. Besides, it teaches the values of friendship.
One can't help but wish ``The Baby-Sitters Club'' well in its sale of simple joys. MOVIE REVIEW
``The Baby-Sitters Club''
Cast: Schuyler Fisk, Bre Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Peter Horton, Brooke Adams, Bruce Davison
Director: Melanie Mayron
Screenplay: Dulene Young
MPAA rating: PG (scattered mature suggestions; deserves a G rating)
Mal's rating: two and a half stars
Locations: Chesapeake Square and Greenbrier in Chesapeake; Circle 6 and Main Gate in Norfolk; Columbus, Lynnhaven 8 and Surf-N-Sand in Virginia Beach by CNB