Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead (1991)

Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead (1991)

5/10

Starring

Christina Applegate

Joanna Cassidy

Keith Coogan

Directed by Stephen Herek

In 1991 Christina Applegate starred in a 1991 coming of age movie called, Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead. The movie is about some kids set on the loose by their mother who went on a trip to Australia.

She did not leave them alone intentionally, like the other movies of the 90s eg Home Alone, these kids are never left on their own intentionally. They new found freedom comes with challenges of the real world. But with some luck and a little adventure, these kids always find away to stay on top of the situation regardless of all the cards falling all about them. That was the recipe of leaving kids alone at home movies.

The movie had many things missing that would have made viewing it interesting and one of the things missing was surprise. There is nothing that happened in this movie that will take you by surprise. The movie did not even try to impress and the movie could not even make you break a smile with the below plot.

A mother of five children was being taken on a trip to Australia by her boyfriend. She leaves her seventeen-year-old daughter in-charge of the home and hired a babysitter to supervise things while she will be gone for two months.

The children thinking this will be the best thing ever, were surprised when the babysitter a presumed sweet old lady, turned to a drill sergeant.

Not that they wished the old lady any harm, but one day they step into her room to find her dead. Not knowing what to do, they asked themselves, will it be better to tell their mother and she comes home immediately or they do something about it and keep their new found freedom. They decided to keep their freedom and this required them dropping the lady’s dead body at the morgue.

Unaware where the money their mother left behind for the two months, they have to find a way to make money so they can eat. This is the summer break and each child wanted to have fun, but it is now up to the eldest to find away to care for their little ones.

In the end of the movie, everything turned out a way that will make you wonder, “what’s the point?”

There seem to be no lesson learned and all the children just had a miraculous we must be responsible behavior. Which is odd, because their irresponsibility and bad behavior seem to just display their stupidity, left home alone doesn’t mean you have to be a dirty slob.