Watching AU PAIR(1999) for the 3rd time, Au Pair II(2001) and Au Pair III(2009)

AU PAIR

Written by	Jeffrey C. Sherman Cheryl Saban
Directed by	Mark Griffiths

I fell in love with this story when this was first shown.  The kids(KATIE VOLDING and JAKE DINWIDDIE) might be rebels, but they were very brilliant, creative and wise beyond their years.  They were still kids, thankfully, but very precocious.  How's that for emphasis?

Another thing I loved about AU PAIR was Oliver(GREGORY HARRISON)'s smile and that instant connection he had with Jennifer(HEIDI NOELLE LENHART) on the first day that he knew that he had to hire her, not knowing she was applying for another position.  Although her connection with the kids was not in an instant, she could relate to them because she too lost her mother at a very young age.

JANE SIBBETT is Vivian, the evil stepmother wannabe.  Earlier, she played Clarice in It Takes Two starring The Olsen Twins, Kirstie Alley and Steve Guttenberg.  She's now playing mother roles, and she's very good.  It's just that Clarice and Vivian are too much alike, except that Vivian is supposed to be highly sophisticated, whereas Clarice is a gold digger.

Another important character in this movie is JOHN RHYS-DAVIES who plays Nigel Kent.  He is like the Caldwell family's guardian angel.

Of course, let's not forget RICHARD RIEHLE who plays Jenny Morgan's dad, Sam.  He's so sweet and loving.

The story may be considered formulaic, but it is well-written, well-acted and well-directed.

One of the writers, CHERYL SABAN, is Heidi Lenhart's mom, by the way.   

AU PAIR II: The fairytale continues

Written by	Jeffrey C. Sherman Cheryl Saban
Directed by	Mark Griffiths

If I fell in love with the original story even if it was formulaic, I am a bit pissed with the plot of this one(too common), but I very much enjoyed the travelogues.  ;-)

Gregory, Heidi, Kate and Jake reprise their roles.  Nigel is missing, instead there's Seamus(JAMES LANCASTER).  JUNE LOCKHART appears as the siblings' maternal grandmother.  CLIFF BEMIS takes over the role of Sam Morgan.

ROBIN DUNNE and RACHEL YORK play Michael and Cassandra(her name is perfect for her role...the name itself has a beautiful meaning"shining upon men", so it's still perfectly alright to name your daughters Cassandra/Kassandra, but in Greek Mythology she has the gift of prophecy, but also the curse of that prophecy not being believed so it causes division.  This is Apollo's fault because she rejected him. She became a figure of epic tradition and tragedy.) Hausen.  They are the most spurious and devious characters in this TV movie. It is interesting to note that Robin Dunne and Heidi Lenhart were an item while this movie was being filmed. They got married in 2002, but got divorced in 2005.  She married Chris Stills in 2006 and she has two children with him.  

CELINE MASSUGER plays Brigitte, the siblings' new friend and niece of the antagonists of this TV movie.

RORY KNOX JOHNSTON is Karl Hausen, the grandfather of Brigitte and the father of Cassandra and Michael.  

JOHN PREUCIL plays Grimaldi, the rotten paparazzo.  

Source

AU PAIR 3: Adventure in Paradise

Written by	Jeffrey C. Sherman
Directed by	Mark Griffiths

(I chose to use the present tense) It is great to see their family grow in more ways than one, but sad to say, the magic is gone.  Maybe it's because Cheryl Saban did not cowrite this story.  

Heidi Lenhart is credited as Heidi Saban here. Did they make a mistake because she's Cheryl Saban's daughter?  Or was she adopted by Ms. Saban's husband? Well, I don't think so.  I could check, but rather not.  So why in the world am I asking those questions?  :-p

This movie is not really that bad.  For one, Gregory and Heidi still had good chemistry.  The baby Sarah is cute and Katie evolved. 

This movie is more focused on the children, maybe because their target market are teenagers. 

• Gregory Harrison as Oliver Caldwell
• Heidi Saban as Jennifer "Jenny" Caldwell
• Katie Volding as Katie 'Kate' Caldwell
• Jake Dinwiddie as Alexander 'Alex' Caldwell
• Gerrit Graham as Rupert, the brother of Oliver's now-retired chauffeur Nigel
• Bradley White as Walter Hausen (so, the Hausens are four or more siblings...Walter, Cassandra, Michael, and Brigitte's mom)
• Brian Tester as Brentfield Academy Headmaster
• Kathleen Mealia as Ariana
• Rafa Alvarez as Bodyguard 2
• Ciaran Tyrrell as Danny Taylor

With that, I bid adieu to this trilogy.  

Is there a possibility of watching these three movies again?  Maybe only the first one.

Thanks for your time.