On D List of Movie Reviews
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Don't Tell Mom
the Babysitter's Dead (1991)
Rate:
4
Viewed:
9/10
9/10:
I remember watching Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead many years ago and liking it.
But now, it's a stupid flick. Not only is the premise unbelievable, but it also will never work. Here are the following reasons:
First, Christina Applegate, who gained fame from Married... with Children, looks too old for the part. Cuing Melanie
Griffith from Working Girl, she, as Swell (you have to be kidding me if that's her name), does the exact same thing
by walking through the city in high heels. Hmm...well, enjoy the pain afterwards.
Second, the fact that Swell is a high school graduate who's going to apply to a community college tells me she's a
dumb person. Thus, there's no way she would be able to pull off the shit after one day working at the office.
Third, why is a co-worker willing to do everything for Swell? It'll never happen.
Fourth, pretending to be what the résumé says, it won't work if Swell doesn't have the vocabulary and
office lingo. Anyone can see the fraud in her. By the way, what happened to reference and background checks?
All of the characters are unlikable, and the budding romantic relationship between Swell and the Clown Corn Dog employee is
dumb. To fix up the house for a fashion show (whoa, whoa...check out the ugly clothes, and they're called "uniforms"??),
it'll cost a lot of money. To accomplish it in a few days, considering how screwed-up the house is, isn't going to happen.
One of the five kids is a habitual thief who gifted a diamond ring to a girl, and his name is Christopher Pettiet.
Unsurprisingly, he was a real-life drug addict, who probably dabbled a lot of it during the filming, and died in 2000. Anyway,
the acting is somewhat poor, and many scenes have the dreadful made-for-TV feel.
All in all, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is an okay film to pass the time, but I shudder at the premise.