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Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Comedy · 1991

Sue Ellen Crandell is a teenager eagerly awaiting her mother's summer-long absence. While the babysitter looks after her rambunctious younger siblings, Sue Ellen can party and have fun. But then the babysitter abruptly dies, leaving the Crandells short on cash. Sue Ellen finds a sweet job in fashion by lying about her age and experience on her résumé. But, while her siblings run wild, she discovers the downside of adulthood

Movie details

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

“No rules. No curfews. No baths. No nagging. No pulse.”

1991 Comedy 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.4 / 10

41K votes

Metacritic

35 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Sue Ellen Crandell is a teenager eagerly awaiting her mother's summer-long absence. While the babysitter looks after her rambunctious younger siblings, Sue Ellen can party and have fun. But then the babysitter abruptly dies, leaving the Crandells short on cash. Sue Ellen finds a sweet job in fashion by lying about her age and experience on her résumé. But, while her siblings run wild, she discovers the downside of adulthood

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Stephen Herek

Written by

Neil Landau · Tara Ison

Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate

Swell

Joanna Cassidy

Joanna Cassidy

Rose

John Getz

John Getz

Gus

Josh Charles

Josh Charles

Bryan

Keith Coogan

Keith Coogan

Kenny

Concetta Tomei

Concetta Tomei

Mom

David Duchovny

David Duchovny

Bruce

Court is in session

Put Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.