(1978)2.5Fred BeldinVicki (Therese Pare), a virginal 17-year-old babysitter, runs with an older crowd who nickname her "Jailbait" and tease her for not putting out to devoted boyfriend Robert (Roscoe Born). When the gang turns a babysitting job into a Quaalude-fueled sex party, violence ensues, and Vicki is rescued by a "professional liaison" (April 1978 Penthouse Pet Mariwin Roberts), who welcomes her into her home and introduces her to the world of high-class prostitution. The salaciously titled Jailbait Babysitter doesn't deliver the heat one would expect (save for some random toplessness and a steamy ten-second shower orgy) and fluctuates in tone between cautionary-tale melodrama and good old-fashioned sex comedy. Writer/director John Hayes tries and fails to find humor in his heroine slipping in dogsh*t and a heart-attack victim being covered in garbage. Hayes' 20-year exploitation career resulted in films that ranged from unique and poetic (The Rotten Apple) to brilliantly stupid (Garden of the Dead) or insufferably dull (The End of the World). Jailbait Babysitter is at the lowest end of the spectrum, combining boredom with incoherence, as continuity of character, plot, and time of day is ignored throughout. Even the fistfight finale between a clown and a vampire can't redeem this sluggish picture for fans of junk cinema, who would be better off seeking out some of Hayes' more interesting hack work. The climactic Halloween party scene has been alleged by some to feature future Roseanne star John Goodman in his screen debut as a dancing extra in a giant rainbow afro wig. However, the disguise makes it impossible to determine for sure, and it's unlikely that the then New York-based actor would have jetted all the way to the West Coast for a non-speaking role in a low-rent skin flick. Roscoe Born went on to a successful soap opera career, putting in long years on numerous daytime stories (Ryan's Hope, One Life to Live, and All My Children, among others).
