Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead

Directed by Stephen Herek, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead follows Christina Applegate’s Sue Ellen as she and her siblings, including Keith Coogan’s Kenny and Danielle Harris’ Melissa, are forced to fend for themselves after their mother leaves town and their babysitter passes away – with the bulk of the narrative detailing Sue Ellen’s efforts at passing herself off as much older (and experienced) in her new office job. It’s an appealingly larger-than-life premise that is, for the most part, employed to affable effect by Herek, as the filmmaker, armed with Neil Landau and Tara Ison’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced comedy that’s been suffused with a whole host of engaging, agreeable elements – with the charming performances and pleasantly broad storyline perpetuating the picture’s watchable atmosphere. (The period-specific conceit of a protagonist swindling their way into an office job is, for the most part, a foolproof one.) There’s little doubt, then, that Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead‘s success is ultimately hindered by an overlong running time and padded-out third act, as the movie closes with a protracted stretch wherein Sue Ellen’s various lies finally (and inevitably) catch up with her – which, in addition to ensuring that the whole thing finishes on a fairly underwhelming note, cements the film’s place as a passable endeavor that’s by and large better than its title might’ve indicated.

**1/2 out of ****