Fast Food Family - Eine Familie zum Quietschen

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

This is one of the best and the last 80's style comedies along the lines of "Uncle Buck". Sue Ellen (Christina Applegate) is the oldest of 3 brothers- Kenny (Keith Coogan), Walter (Robert Gorman), Zach (Christopher Pettiet) , and 1 sister- Melissa (Danielle Harris). Excited about her mom leaving for Australia on vacation, Sue Ellen is expecting to have a great summer- that is until she discovers she is going to be "babysat" by the evil Mrs. Sturak- a mean, grumpy old hag who gives you book reports instead of letting you watch television in the evening. Then, Mrs. Sturak dies- leaving Sue Ellen and her four siblings to survive the summer, prompting her to get a job to support her brothers and sister, put food on the table, and learn the true meaning of responsibility. This movie has some laughs and is pretty fun and entertaining. A good family comedy. 8/10.

This film is sort of like a perfect time capsule for what life was like before the internet. What a trip.

I loved this movie as a teenager, and still love it now , it's funny the acting is wonderful, and it's just a silly movie to relax and enjoy

OK the premise is dumb--A mom is going on vacation to Australia for two months. She has five children and leaves them with a tyrannical babysitter. The babysitter dies (of natural causes) within the first 15 minutes and the kids basically have to live alone all summer...but need money for food. The oldest one is 17 year old Sue Ellen (Christina Applegate)and she easily gets an executive position (just like real life, right?) at a fashion agency and, naturally, is incredible at her job. And her brothers and sisters learn values from her example...

Sounds horrible, but it's well-acted (especially Applegate and a drop dead gorgeous Joanna Cassidy), it moves quickly, is very funny, has a great soundtrack of new AND old songs and I enjoyed every minute of it! Not a great movie by any means, but if you can turn off your brain for 2 hours, you'll really enjoy it!

Just saw it again; the cast carries a silly plot, in much the same way as a '40s screwball comedy but with an 80s/90s sensibility and awareness. Applegate and Coogan are really outstanding here, and the supporting cast is smart enough to either support or stay out of the way, as necessary. It's pure humor with no big message, which apparently was a virtue 60 years ago but is unforgivable now. I'd best describe the humor as, "Hilarity ensues as fish out of water learn to breathe air."

I'd give it a very solid 6.8 out of 10, worth a rental or a Netflix hit, but not a $20 purchase.

Tom