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:

When the movie was released on video, there was a contest where participants would answer a number of questions about the movie related to movie trivia as well as ratings of various actors' performances. The winner, whose answers matched up the best with an official set, would win the babysitter's car (the one stolen by the drag queens).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: One of the kids is playing Road Blasters, a driving game. The kid yells "Yes!" and there is an explosion on screen, however, the explosion seen is actually two explosions. One of them is the player's car. There seems to be a pause in the movie, however, Road Blasters puts the player's next car on screen immediately following a crash. The next scene shows him walking toward Sue Ellen's table. The Road Blasters machine is clearly visible in this scene, and empty. If the kid had really been playing Road Blasters, his game would not have ended at that point (you lose not by crashing but by running out of fuel). He also would not have walked into the next scene from screen right, by the Road Blasters machine, and to screen left where Sue Ellen was sitting.

Quotes:

Rose Lindsey: Where is Carolyn?
Sue Ellen "Swell" Crandell: Mouse brown hair, gives you a headache? Talks like she's chewing her face?
Rose Lindsey: That's her.

Movie Connections:

Features "The French Chef" (1962)

Soundtrack:

(LOVE IS) THE TENDER TRAP

Harmless entertainment

You know... I've seen this a couple of times and I'd see it again. It made me laugh. It was charming. It was a harmless flick; no psyches were harmed in the making thereof. Granted, no real thought needs to be put into watching it. But it was fun, and I enjoyed it.

Christina Applegate especially impressed me, which is noteworthy as -- at the time -- I really disliked her as a result of really disliking "Married With Children." She was not only good in her role but, I have to say, pretty much won me over.

I can't say that the film made me wish I had siblings or a dead babysitter, but it did entertain me, and it made me smile to remember it watching this review, which has got to be worth something.