I saw The Nanny Diaries tonight with my best friend and youngest sister. Since it was my favorite book, I naturally had to go see the movie on opening day. It definitely lived up to the book’s satirical take on Upper East Side society.

It’s funny, because when I read the book, I felt like I could’ve written it, with the 12 years experience I have baby-sitting children. The same could be said for the movie, especially since they developed the background of the Nanny character even more. The movie began with Annie Braddock graduating from college and then being struck with the question that most grads go through: “What now?” As she sat with her mother discussing her options, I wanted to reach out to Scarlett Johansson (who plays Annie) and say “It’s okay, I’m going through it too”

There’s a scene in the movie where Annie goes on a job interview and is asked “Tell me, who is Annie?” She can’t tell the woman who’s interviewing her just who Annie is, freaks out, then accidentally becomes a nanny. She chooses to go through with the job in order to discover more about anthropology, her minor (she majored in business, much to her mother’s delight and pushing). She treats becoming a nanny as an anthropology field study. The rest of the story I could relate to so incredibly well…

When Annie opens the refrigerator at The X’s (the aptly named family she watches) home, all that inhabits it is tofu and organic food (Almost every family I’ve ever watched has absolutely no real food). She goes on vacation to Nantucket with the X’s and finds herself on the beach watching half a dozen kids she barely knows (I’ve been there while baby-sitting a family who summer on Lake Chautauqua). All the while, “Annie the Nanny” finds love in a rather cute Chris Evans.

After seeing this movie and chatting with my best friend over dinner about all of my baby-sitting/nannying experiences through the years, I’ve been inspired to maybe start writing a tell-all book of my own. As a journalist, my job is to observe people and write about them. The rest is history!