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I really cant think ofany, can you?
Everyone was the girlfriend.
I loved that the comedy came from me just reacting to situations, Shue says.
But Jeffrey Katzenberg, then head of Disneys Touchstone Pictures, kept it in theaters throughout the summer.
The film ultimately became a sleeper hit, not to mention a future sleepover staple.
Thats a full three years before Martin Scorsese used it inGoodfellas.Just saying.
How did you land it?Wow, Sharon Stone?
That would have been an interesting version.
So I didThe Karate Kid, then I did a not-great horror movie calledLinkwith Terence Stamp.
I made a Disney TV movie calledDouble Switchand played the girlfriend.
You just get used to that feeling of getting, like, one out of ten projects.
Did you have babysitting expertise?I was a babysitter before I was an actress!
So I was not a great babysitter.
Id say Chris Parker was definitely my attempt at taking care of people and saving people from disaster.
I was terrified I couldnt pull it off because it was so over-the-top.
I was legitimately afraid I couldnt do the scenes.
I have to say, that was the real joy of filming.
Everything else was in Toronto.
But we did shoot the blues-bar scene in Chicago.
I was going to do this chronologically, but lets just hit that iconic Babysitting Blues scene right now.
I kept on saying, This is terrible!
That kind of calmed me down.
One thing that helped was that we did prerecord the song so I didnt have to do it live.
And youre doing it with Anthony, Keith, and Maia.
I just adored them.
And they were a little Method.
I think Keith would pretend to have a crush on me just like his character.
But Im not positive.
We have to find out.
Can we hey discuss Bradley Whitford, who was the quintessential 80s yuppie jerk?
Did he go Method too?Awww.
Wait, describe the exact circumstances of this happening.Im not sure if he asked me or I asked him!
And it was not immediately after the film ended.
But we did go out.
Well, he was supercute.Supercute!
But I havent seen him in a long time.
Its nice that were both still working.
You also share a scene with a young Vincent DOnofrio as Thor the mechanic.
He wanted the character to be fully realized and not some cartoon.
He wasnt, like, talking to people in between takes.
I was really impressed.
Im wearing a fur coat, and I bump into him.
This was [director] Chris Columbuss first movie, and he created this family feeling on the set.
So I felt comfortable putting them in it.
They needed extras in that scene anyway.
Did you like that opening scene with Chris getting ready for her date and dancing in her bedroom?
It could have gone either way.It was fun!
But I didnt like that dress at first when they showed it to me.
I wanted it to be quote-unquote sexier and more womanly.
Then we realized there was no better dress.
How did you feel about that camel peacoat?
You wear it in basically every scene.I had to wear the same clothes every single day.
I did despise the pants over time because they were these very tight spandex-y jeans.
Thank God, the coat covered them.
I dont remember the wardrobe fittings or how they chose the coat, but I kept one.
But it totally fell apart.
The only things I still have are myLeaving Las Vegasshoes and a Vivienne Westwood bustier.
Thats really you in thePlayboy?I had those photos taken at the Playboy Mansion!
Why couldnt you do it in Toronto?I have no idea.
I think they wanted it to be authentic.
Im trying to remember whether I met him.
I think I might have.
But it was totally surreal to be there.
I mean, I wasnt naked, obviously.
But I think the movie works because it has that edginess to it.
I say fuck, and I went to the Playboy Mansion.
He said I was a role model for young girls and that kids will think its okay to curse.
And Im like, No, I have to use that word because its the language of the street!
Cut to my son watching the movie when hes 2 or 3.
Hes going around the house after, yelling, Fuck!
Your dad wasnt so far off base.No, he wasnt!
But that was another fun scene because we were on a real subway in Toronto.
When did you realize this movie had legs?It was a very slow build.
I dont remember people stopping me on the street and being like, Oh,Adventures in Babysitting!
People appreciate it much more now than back then.
Its funny you say that.
I always thought you took the role to avoid being typecast as a young goody-goody.
Is that accurate?Zero.
Ive always been clueless about my career.
If anything, I slowly became typecast as someone who looked good on other peoples arms.
It took me doingLeaving Las Vegas[in 1995] to push through that.
Its still a lot of hit or miss.
I just have to keep swimming.
Do you keep in touch with anyone from the cast?I ran into Penelope Ann Miller once.
It was in a teeny-tiny theater, and there were probably ten people in the audience.
But it was one of my favorite experiences in New York.
And Bradley and I are both interested in a project.
If it gets financing, I might see him [soon]!
How funny is that?
Was there ever talk of a sequel?Jonah Hill did somewhat of a sequel [2016sThe Sitter].
There is an 80s innocence that cant be redone now.
Imagine if wed had cell phones back then?
It would bedoo-doo-doo[dialing] on the phone, yelling, hey help us!
And yet the original still holds up.Im just amazed.
They were also smart to give it an edge with a soul underneath.
You dont hear any pop songs in it its Sam Cooke and the Crystals.
Thats part of the films dynamic, and its very unique and necessary.
Im still grateful to be a part of it.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
