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

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.

Fmovies: What is a great film? Something that is truly timeless, or something which is a classic of its genre? Obviously, no-one's pretending "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" is a great film (no great film has a title of more than three words. Think about it) but nonetheless, one does get to see how a film handles its composition of several genres rather than one. It's the best strategy towards greatness, and I hope to see this attempted more frequently.

"Don't Tell Mom..." is at an interesting cultural crossroads. It's basically the last of the Eighties high-concept comedies: the same broad category as films like Big and Crocodile Dundee, where the whole film comes from the pitch. However, we get to see shades of Wayne's World-esquire Generation X teen movie, especially in the character of Rob, and unfortunately the short-lived genre of 'kids acting in grown-up situations and delivering ever-so-amusing grownup lines.' John Hughes was the master of this style of film-making, and there's definitely shades of his work in here, most noticeably the setting of a film largely within a family house.

First of all - the pitch. Kids left at home for summer with babysitter. Babysitter dies and kids must fend for themselves with as few people let in on the secret as possible. From this moment on, the film was always going to go about the format of throwing its naive, brattish teenagers in the real world at the deep end and extracting as much amusement as possible from their sinking-or-swimming.

The screenplay starts to thin at this point. Of the five kids in the house, only two are feasibly old enough to work, or indeed to learn any sort of life lesson throughout this experience. The plot then follows Sue Ellen as she stumbles her way into a job and up the corporate ladder (the script is devoid of jokes at this point, but I kept watching because Christina Applegate is a surprisingly good actress.) Everything from this point is a misjudgment - it's virtually scrawled across the screen that Sue Ellen is getting some life lessons and becoming a young adult. The film could have done without the 'boyfriend' storyline though - it's without doubt the saggiest part of the film.

More interesting is the Kenny storyline. Younger brother Kenny goes from being a hopeless layabout stoner with no inkling to as what he wants to do in life to a man with a plan. Lack of screen time prohibits us from truly understanding why, but we do get an insight into the film's message - the real world is about sacrifice. Kenny must throw away his carefree existence if he wants to become a man.

Sure, this film has faults like pearls on a string - the annoying smaller children who eat up screen time and contribute nothing but an unbearable cuteness (and they're not even that cute: they steal money from their mom's purse - twice.) Sue Ellen's corporate life is shown as patronizingly simple, but that's a fault of all movies in general, you can't have clever successful people as the heroes because the audience feels intimidated. The other major fault I'm going to point out is the chronic lack of laughs. About the biggest giggle was David Duchovny's horrendous yellow shirt. But "Don't Tell Mom," much like its characters, has an innocent, naive charm about it, and if you can put aside your critical mauling instinct, it won't be the worst two hours of your celluloid life.

Keep your eyes peeled for a throwaway

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

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead fmovies. today movies are violent more than ever before. they are evil and this is the norm of action flicks of today.

Now let me welcome you to a time when movies were entertainment. Don't tell mom the babysitter's dead is absolutely from a better day and a better time of life. It reflects not just what the movie style is but it actually was a sign of the times reflected in the movie. No longer will you find movies like this.

if you see this review without seeing the movie then find the movie watch the movie the acting directing scripts are all innocently and well directed making this one of the most delightful movies ever made.

comparing it to movies of today this movie gets an easy 10 out of 10 for just pure fun. After watching this movie I swear you will feel good at the end not like movies of today. I guarantee you will be smiling and glad that you watched this movie. So what are you waiting for entertain yourself with some quality from the past

I remember watching this film when I was growing up, I loved it then and I still love it.

Despite the fact it's obviously predictable, it's a fun film that's well acted and directed and has a great soundtrack.

Christina Applegate is quite impressive as Sue-Ellen, as is the rest of the cast.

Most of the characters are quite black and white with the obvious "baddies" getting their comeuppance towards the end of the film. Predictable films howeverm, aren't always bad. Especially if they are well acted and the characters are interesting. The only character that was meant to be nice that I found utterly annoying, was Josh Charles as Sue-Ellen's sugary sweet suitor, Bryan. His acting was great don't get me wrong, but I think it's safe to say Bryan wouldn't be MY type!

If anything else, this fun film is easy to watch and will remind most people in their mid 20's of their adolescents.

I loved this movie, I found it very entertaining and would recommend it.

I'm often surprised at the points people get hung up on in reviewing movies. They are, after all, FICTION. The main "controversy" surrounding this plot seems to be Sue Ellen's job. I have done office work for over 25 years and yes, it is entirely possible that Sue Ellen could have landed that position without too much trouble. Maybe not inside of five minutes at the first firm she walked into, but using a faked resume, as she was, she could have obtained a pretty soft office job without too much trouble. Some firms I've worked for would verify your more recent work experience, but many others never verify anything on a resume, and I've never once in all my years known of anyone to verify the education one claimed to have. Indeed, I've often kicked myself that I could have claimed to have some precious, worthless high dollar degree and no one would have questioned it.

Beyond this, the movie is awfully good for this genre of film. We see the children unexpectedly learning valuable life lessons and it changing them into better people. It's really a rather wholesome movie considering the time period and target audience. I've let my nephews, nieces, and grandchildren watch in my home, there is nothing more objectionable than the very occasional swear word in it.

One of my favorite movies from an otherwise dry period in Hollywood, highly recommended.