Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writers (WGA):

Neil Landau (written by) &
Tara Ison (written by)

Release Date:

7 June 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

No rules. No curfews. No nagging. No pulse.

Plot:

Five kids are left home when their mother leaves town on a three-month vacation, only to have their geriatric babysitter die of a heart attack, leading to the eldest teen, Sue Ellen, to scam her way into taking a job at a hip Los Angeles fashion company to feed and support her needy siblings.

Plot Keywords:

Babysitter | Job | Fashion | Fast Food Restaurant | Deception

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Christina Applegate	...	Sue Ellen Crandell
Joanna Cassidy	...	Rose Lindsey
John Getz	...	Gus
Josh Charles	...	Bryan
Keith Coogan	...	Kenny Crandell
Concetta Tomei	...	Mrs. Crandell
David Duchovny	...	Bruce
Kimmy Robertson	...	Cathy
Jayne Brook	...	Carolyn
Eda Reiss Merin	...	Mrs. Sturak
Robert Hy Gorman	...	Walter Crandell
Danielle Harris	...	Melissa Crandell
Christopher Pettiet	...	Zach Crandell
Chris Claridge	...	Lizard
Jeff Bollow	...	Mole

Also Known As:

The Real World (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M (TV rating) | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12 | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Cinema Plus

Trivia:

Before Sue Ellen stomps out of Kenny's room, she yells, "When are you going to start helping me, you lazy little prick?" but director Stephen Herek decided he didn't want to take any chances of the movie receiving an R rating so he had the scene fixed for Sue Ellen to call Kenny a lazy little "punk" instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Sue Ellen shoots Gus with the water gun, the squirt on his pants changes size between the close up and the long shot.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Sue Ellen "Swell" Crandell: I'm right on top of that Rose.

Movie Connections:

Features "The French Chef" (1962)

Soundtrack:

DRAGGIN' THE LINE

Better than the 5/10 rating it has here.

Just saw it again; the cast carries a silly plot, in much the same way as a '40s screwball comedy but with an 80s/90s sensibility and awareness. Applegate and Coogan are really outstanding here, and the supporting cast is smart enough to either support or stay out of the way, as necessary. It's pure humor with no big message, which apparently was a virtue 60 years ago but is unforgivable now. I'd best describe the humor as, "Hilarity ensues as fish out of water learn to breathe air."

I'd give it a very solid 6.8 out of 10, worth a rental or a Netflix hit, but not a $20 purchase.

Tom