LESS THAN ZERO

One movie you can bet you won’t see on Gary Franklin’s 10 Best List is “Adventures in Babysitting.” On the 1-to-10 scale, 10 being best, the KABC-TV film critic gave the new Touchstone comedy a 0. (It’s Franklin’s first zero, he thinks, since he skunked Sly Stallone’s “Cobra” last year.)

What bothered him so much about “Babysitting”? Explained Franklin: “I was deeply offended. It’s full of offensive racial stereotypes. It’s really a terrible put-down of blacks.

“Movies really have an enormous impact on formative minds, whether its glorifying gore or promoting racial ignorance. I’d just hate to think what would happen if you brought a bright 11-year-old black kid to see this movie. In fact, I was appalled that the so-called civil rights organizations in this country haven’t protested this film already.”

How derisive was Franklin’s review? Here’s a quick sample: Noting that a black car thief in the film ultimately reports to a white boss, Franklin, alluding to former Dodger veep Al Campanis’ controversial remarks about blacks, quipped: “They probably needed somebody buoyant to keep afloat in this effluent.”

Is it possible the movie’s racial stereotyping was unintentional? “Sure, that’s the whole point--it is unintentional, just like Campanis’ remarks about blacks on ‘Nightline.’ He never realized that he’d said anything wrong either. That’s what ignorance is all about.”