Touchstone Pictures/Silver Screen Partners III/Buena Vista Pictures(CHICAGO) — Today marks 30 years since audiences first watched Elisabeth Shue lead her babysitting charges around downtown Chicago in the movie Adventures in Babysitting.
The directorial debut of Chris Columbus, the movie follows Shue’s Chris Parker, who, after being stood up by her boyfriend, agrees to babysit for a Thor-obsessed girl named Sara, Sara’s brother Brad and Brad’s friend Darryl. After Chris’ friend calls in need of help, the foursome ventures into downtown Chicago where they run into one problem after another.
Keith Coogan, who played Brad in the movie, turned 17 at the start of production in 1987. He told ABC News in a 2016 interview that fans still love to discuss the movie with him.
“I’ve had people say that this was their first film that their parents took them to that they remember going to the theaters to watch,” he said, adding, “I’m so thrilled that people have a soft spot for it. You can’t trade that for the world. You cannot buy it. And to be a very small part of something like that — it is really exciting.”
Casting Shue as babysitter Chris Parker proved to be a challenge. Coogan said he did screen tests with a number of actresses who went out for the part, including Phoebe Cates and Valerie Bertinelli. But, he added, nobody quite captured the essence of the character like Shue.
“I still have a huge crush on Elisabeth Shue,” Coogan said. “I’ve done a couple of films like Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead with Christina Applegate, where I saw a very young woman carrying a multi-million dollar picture for a major studio and the pressure must be tremendous. But I am amazed at the level of professionalism and the dedication to the work. [She] really did carry the picture.”
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