Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead
by Stephen Herek
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, John Getz, Josh Charles, Keith CooganDirector: Stephen Herek
Brand: EMI
Producer: Brian Reilly
Producer: Caroline Baron
Producer: Davis Guggenheim
Producer: Jeffrey Silver
Producer: Julia Phillips
Writer: Neil Landau
Writer: Tara Ison
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-12-12
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Movie Reviews of Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead
Movie Review: ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED COMEDIES OF ALL TIME!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead" has never been given the respect it deserves. I think that is due to the obvious two reasons. First...the title. It's rather silly and it makes the movie appear to be aimed at the kiddie market which isn't really the case. Second...Christina Applegate. She's always been known as the ditzy blonde on "Married...With Children" and a lot of people haven't taken notice of what a fine actress she is.Those two reasons have probably kept many from watching this film and that's a real shame. It's a real winner of a story once you get past the corny beginning. Sue Ellen (Christina Applegate) and her younger siblings are left under the watchful eye of an elderly babysitter when their mom leaves the country for a couple of months. As the title suggests, the babysitter soon passes away. To make matters worse, the kids are left without any money and Sue Ellen has to get a job to support the family.
OK...I realize that this premise probably doesn't have you in a frenzy to see it. However, it quickly evolves into a film which is both extremely humorous and touching. Sue Ellen gets a job at a uniform manufacturer and her boss, Rose, is delightfully played by Joanna Cassidy. Cassidy gives her role an amazing spark that you'll have to see to understand. Just watching her and listening to her laugh puts an instant smile on my face. Sue Ellen also develops a relationship with a young man named Bryan (Josh Charles) who works at a fast food joint. I was honestly surprised with the amount of care that was given in regards to the romantic side of the movie. You are shown two people that you truly care about and you want to see them stay madly in love.
The supporting cast does a solid job as well. All of Sue Ellen's co-workers (including David Duchovny!) are very well cast. The younger actors, including Keith Coogan, also hold their own playing the siblings. It all culminates in an ending that is both inspirational and moving. If you are considering watching this movie than I would urge you to do so. It may not be anything that's gonna change the world...but it's some darn good entertainment!
Summary of Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead
The day after Mom leaves for a summer vacation in Australia, the kid's strict babysitter drops dead. The kids decide not to tell Mom, so that they can party.Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: PG13
Street Date: 08/30/05
Wide Screen: no
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: yes
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve
Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead aspires to be a cross between Home Alone and Risky Business, with Christina Applegate as an inadvertent scam artist who gets in over her head and somehow pulls it off. When her mother goes to Australia for two months, Sue Ellen (Applegate) thinks she's going to be in charge--until an elderly tyrant of a babysitter arrives. But on the very first night the old lady has a heart attack and keels over. Sue Ellen and her siblings leave the body at a mortuary, only to discover afterward that all the money their mother had left for the summer was in the babysitter's clothes. So Sue Ellen has to get a job. Thanks to a trumped-up resume, she ends up as an executive assistant at a clothing manufacturer. For a while she keeps her head above water by skillfully exploiting a friendly coworker, but her brothers and sisters are running amok at home and a venomous receptionist has it in for her at work. The role-reversal humor of Sue Ellen having to mother her siblings is unsurprising, but Applegate is unexpectedly appealing; her scenes with Josh Charles (Dead Poet's Society, Threesome) have a sweet chemistry. Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner, The Laughing Policeman) plays Sue Ellen's boss and a young David Duchovny (The X-Files, The Rapture) is a weaselly clerk. --Bret Fetzer