X
- 1991
- PG-13
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 42 m
- 1991
- PG-13
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 42 m
Summary Five siblings are left alone all summer when their mom leaves town and the evil babysitter bites the dust.
Directed By: Stephen Herek
Written By: Neil Landau, Tara Ison
- 1991
- PG-13
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 42 m
- 1991
- PG-13
- Warner Bros.
- 1 h 42 m
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
35
7.7
Where to Watch
Summary Five siblings are left alone all summer when their mom leaves town and the evil babysitter bites the dust.
Directed By: Stephen Herek
Written By: Neil Landau, Tara Ison
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
35
15% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
35% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
50% Negative
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
35
15% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
35% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
50% Negative
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
This is a sassy little comedy of wit and intelligence from the director of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. As Swell, Applegate is appealing and resourceful, while Coogan's dope-head Kenny contributes to a wonderfully dry, on-going marital spoof. Getz is the unctuous boardroom chauvinist to a tee, and Cassidy rounds off the picture's relaxed Cosmo-feminism as Swell's scatty boss.
Despite its preposterous storyline, Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead is surprisingly entertaining and fun. While the film, directed by Stephen Herek from a screenplay by Neil Landau and Tara Ison, might have been sharper, wittier and cleverer, it
nevertheless achieves on its own level by genuinely involving its young target audience.
This would-be tribute to youthful anarchy fails the junior-high acid test: Will my parents hate it? Dead is too dead on arrival to inspire much emotion either way. [07 June 1991, p.5D]
In short, the film panders to teen-agers - but not smartly or stylishly. [07 June 1991, p.48]
There's no telling how the unflatteringly photographed Applegate delivers a comic line on the big screen, because Tara Ison and Neil Landau haven't written her any. And it's painful to see pros like Joanna Cassidy and John Getz stuck in this sewage. Director Stephen Herek does what you'd expect from the man who gave us Critters and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, i.e., grinds out the film equivalent of processed cheese.
A cross-pollination of Home Alone and The Secret of My Success, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is the kind of movie that makes you wish you could sneak into the projection booth with a pair of pinking shears. To say that it's dead isn't really fair; nothing that's dead could be this obnoxious.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 User Ratings
7.7
67% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
33% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 User Ratings
7.7
67% Positive
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
33% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Home Box Office (HBO),
Cinema Plus,
Mercury/Douglas Films,
Outlaw Productions (I)
Release Date Jun 7, 1991
Duration 1 h 42 m
Rating PG-13
Genres
Tagline No rules. No curfews. No baths. No nagging. No pulse.
Awards
Young Artist Awards
• 3 Nominations
MTV Movie + TV Awards
• 1 Nomination
