SPOTTED: Adventures in Babysitting Edition!
Hey, remember Dino Drac’s “Spotted” series? Where we locate random fun things hiding in old TV shows and movies? Probably not, since I only made one entry. I think we’re long overdue for a second.
Today’s find is from 1987’s Adventures in Babysitting, the kind-of-classic starring Elisabeth Shue, whose character has an… uh… adventure while babysitting. I’ll forever remember the film for making “Don’t fuck with the Lords of Hell” a permanent part of my non sequitur reserve.
It’s a cute little movie, but I’m not here to regurgitate its IMDB plot summary. I’m here for what’s on the shelf in the little girl’s bedroom.
With the pending arrival of Elisabeth Shue, the kids she’ll be babysitting are all atwitter. Especially the older boy, Brad. This is understandable. Elisabeth Shue was totally crush-worthy, even without the Back to the Future connection.
Searching for zit cream because God damn, what a time for a zit, Brad interrogates his younger sister, Sara. Sara is the heart and soul of the film. She’s obsessed with the mighty Thor, and has the helmet to prove it.
In fact, her whole bedroom is full of Thor stuff. This might lead you to believe that Thor is going to be the focus of today’s post, but he ain’t. Everyone knows about this movie’s connection to Thor. That’s old news.
But this isn’t:
After retrieving the zit cream, Brad wastes no time in applying it, and wait, WHAT IS THAT on Sara’s shelf?
Oh, you know what it is. The severe blur cannot hide it. Sara was the proud owner of a My Pet Monster doll!
I’ve written about this guy many times, but since I’m averse to digging up ancient and horrible articles, here’s a primer:
In the vein of My Buddy dolls, My Pet Monster was more than a mere pillow pal. Obtaining one was as good as making a new friend. Kids who had them treated ’em like living creatures. They came with us to Grandma’s. They ate our leftovers. They were loved and respected.
Owing to his false reputation as as troublemaker, My Pet Monster came with break-apart handcuffs. If you had the doll but can’t remember the handcuffs, it’s because everyone who owned one lost those immediately. It wasn’t a rite of passage, but it might as well have been.
Despite being so seemingly boy-targeted, My Pet Monster was a big hit with girls, too. Sara from Adventures in Babysitting was far from the only female fan.
Of course, Sara did it all wrong. You weren’t supposed to shove My Pet Monster on a shelf! He was supposed to be with you, in the middle of the action!
I’m willing to chalk this up to Mom cleaning Sara’s room earlier that day. It better be that, or I swear, I will travel back in time, storm the set, and make Maia Brewton cry her eyes out. It’ll get me in enormous trouble. Don’t fuck with the Lords of Hell.
