THE SITTER (Rated R)

Only recently, this column focused on family-friendly films. Not so now for a review of the incredibly raunchy comedy of “The Sitter.”

Not attributed to Judd Apatow in any way, “The Sitter” is nevertheless a fitting substitute in the cinematic department of crude humor filled with sexual content, drug use and profanity.

Still, a graduate of Judd Apatow’s school of vulgar laughs, the chubby Jonah Hill, is the starring titular character of an unfit babysitter.

This film recalls memories of Elisabeth Shue in “Adventures in Babysitting,” minus, of course, the rude, coarse hilarity that is more commonplace in today’s world.

Jonah Hill’s Noah Griffith, a college dropout living at home with his single mom, has little motivation to do anything other than to satisfy a would-be girlfriend.

Right from the start, “The Sitter” announces its intention to bawdy, vulgar behavior. Let’s just say that involves Noah in a compromising position with his wannabe girlfriend Marisa (Ari Graynor).

After setting the stage of the film’s lowest common denominator spirit, Noah finds himself dragged into a babysitting job for a couple that wants to introduce Noah’s mom (Jessica Hecht) to a blind date.

Very quickly, Noah learns that he has just inherited the babysitting job from hell for a trio of dysfunctional kids that would turn Mary Poppins into a serial killer.

The youngest of the bunch is the precocious Blithe (Landry Bender), who likes to dress up in sexy clothes and applies more makeup than a hooker. Sadly, she looks like a JonBenet Ramsey imitator.

The oldest child is the very proper and neurotic Slater (Max Records), a lonely teen who wears a fanny pack to carry his medications. Morose and depressed, Slater claims to have “serious issues.”

The third child is the volatile Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez), a churlish malcontent who urinates on floors and blows up toilets with cherry bombs. That he’s adopted from El Salvador makes him feel out of place.

Hoping for a quiet evening of watching TV, Noah struggles to keep the kids out of his hair. And then a phone call from Marisa compels him to load the kids into a minivan and head off to New York in search of cocaine.

What follows, naturally, is a series of misadventures as Noah tracks down wacky drug dealer Karl (Sam Rockwell), a guy so insane and paranoid that he surrounds himself with bodybuilders for security.

Meanwhile, the troublesome Rodrigo steals a dinosaur egg full of blow from the deranged Karl, which in turn leads to Noah having to come up with $10,000 to save his own life.

For his part, Noah continues to make a series of bad decisions, one of which even results in bodily harm at the hands of an enraged kickboxer.

Noah hits up his estranged father (Bruce Altman) for a loan, and after being rejected he steals his Mercedes and then robs his jewelry store.

Other adventures result in gunplay, harassment by city cops, bar fights, theft at a bat mitzvah and the crashing of a fancy charity dinner-dance.

Without question, the antics in “The Sitter” range from the absurd to bizarre. But this is to be expected from the director who gave us “Pineapple Express.”

Jonah Hill, who has recently trimmed down, is playing the type of obese slacker with quick wit that he perfected in comedies like “Superbad” and “Knocked Up.”

During this upcoming season of holiday cheer, let’s face the simple fact that “The Sitter” is not, for the most part, a joyous celebration of life.

Then again, the film surprises with out-of-place life lessons that affect everyone in a positive way, especially the gloomy Slater and the explosive Rodrigo.

In the end, “The Sitter” is either an exercise in banality and bad taste or a supremely funny film, depending on your perspective with this genre of raunchy comedy.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.