Wanted Babysitter

In this convoluted tale of dangerous suspense called either Scar Tissue or Wanted Babysitter, Ann is an actress disfigured in a car accident. Her movie career is over now because she can't do nude scenes. Wow, maybe she should learn to act better so she doesn't have to rely on disrobing for movie roles. OK, sorry for that. Back to our plot review already in progress....

Ann's roommate Michelle is hired to babysit the son of a rich man, but it turns out that she has been hired to watch after a kidnapped boy. The boy.... named Boots.... seriously? Boots? No offense to anyone who gives their child a name better suited for an animal. Check that, I wouldn't name a pet that, either, not unless I had a 5 year old daughter that couldn't be talked out of it.

Sorry, distracted again. This kind of thing happened when I watched the movie, too. Brief pause whilst I remember where in the plot we are... OK so Michelle is babysitting Boots and they are both prisoners in some big house guarded by a mean-looking dude. Ann is complicit in this because she's ticked off at Boots' father for not treating her right when she was his mistress.

So Michelle and Boots (I wonder if he had a sister if she would be Mittens?) attempt to escape, but the plot thickens as the villains and their intentions are revealed.

What does this movie do right? Not much really, but there is some sense of danger and excitement as the pair tries to gain their freedom. I didn't see all of the plot twists coming, either.

What does it do wrong? Pretty much everything else. For one thing we spend a lot of time with Michelle's boyfriend trying to track him down and then get no closure to his part of the tale. He's just kind of forgotten.

The acting is stiff, and the lines don't flow well. You might recognize the names of Vic Morrow and Robert Vaughn, but they don't really help. The pacing is slow causing it to teeter on the edge of being completely uninteresting. When the intrigue finally does kick in to an appreciable degree many of the plot points don't unfold as strongly as they could.

One point of note is that this was filmed in the mid 70's and says it's in color but isn't. At least mine copy is not; it's black and white. Maybe somebody just dropped the ball? Anyway, it can make the movie feel older than it really is.

MORALITY:

I can't remember if this one was rated or not (I want to say it's unrated, but maybe I'm wrong), but it should be an R without a doubt. There are a few nude scenes at least one of which includes some full frontal shots. Most of these are in conjunction with Ann's affair with Boots' father. So yes, there is some sexual content as well.

Violence isn't heavy, but includes a suicide and child abuse.

The language is pretty strong throughout.

SPIRITUALITY:

Here again we're dealing with people fostering darkness in their hearts. They are willing to mistreat others because they themselves have been mistreated. This kind of thing is what Jesus wants to save us from by teaching us the importance of forgiveness.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Scar Tissue has its fans, but I'm not one of them. I like some elements of the story, but not the way it unfolds. It needs more suspense and intrigue throughout. Check it out only if you are a very big fan of these types of movies.

#WantedBabysitter