Once again, ‘Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead,’ but the remake still has vital signs

Katie Walsh April 12, 2024

The hazards of remaking a beloved film are well known. While the 1991 comedy Dont Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead, starring Christina Applegate, didnt exactly thrill critics 3

30

years ago, its become a cult classic, especially for elder millennials who grew up on the movie. Its the ideal text for a remake:

t T

he source material isnt regarded as untouchable, the name recognition is high

,

and it can be easily adapted

able

to a modern milieu while still stoking

those

childhood memories for those who love the original.

Nostalgia can be a trap, one that writer Chuck Hayward and director Wade Allain-Marcus fortunately sidestep

in their remake

. There are enough nods to the first film to please fans looking for

those

Easter eggs, but they dont get in the way of the story itself, a teen comedy that keeps it real, despite the heightened circumstances. They also update the family from white to Black, which brings a

new different

layer of stakes to the situation.

After their mother (Patricia Ms. Pat Williams) suffers a nervous breakdown at work, the Crandell siblings are left in the care of a Mrs. Sturak (June Squibb), a sweet old lady who reveals herself to be a nagging, racist, slut-shaming tyrant. In her advanced age, she

(as the title suggests)

drops dead from shock

,

or perhaps secondhand smoke

after

the wild rager that the kids throw in the house

is proves

too much for her to bear

, and she (as the title suggests) drops dead from shock, or perhaps secondhand smoke

. Hoping to evade

the

authorities, the Crandell siblings get rid of her body,

along with her purse filled with cash from

m M

om.

Without wanting to disturb their mentally fragile mother, shipped off to a meditation retreat in Thailand, its up to big sis Tanya (Simone Joy Jones) to get a

big-girl grownup

job and provide for her siblings. So much for a fun summer

, ;

shes now learning the joys of a Los Angeles morning commute and cutthroat office politics at a fashion company called Libra. Meanwhile, her skater brother Kenny (Donielle T. Hansley Jr.) has to get his slacker act together to hold down the fort at home.

Much of the appeal of the

first original

film came from

star

Applegate in her first major film role (she was already well-known thanks to

the sitcom

Married With Children), playing eldest sister Sue Ellen. Jones is similarly charming,

in a different way. She sells selling

a performance of a likable teen who is in over her head but gamely manages to thrive in a professional work

ing

environment.

The script by Hayward is

n’tnot

exactly breaking new ground (

it this

is a remake after all), but it establishes the

siblings Crandells

as unique and distinctive characters, including smart and weird little bro Zack (Carter Young) and morbid gamer tween

sis

Melissa (Ayaamii Sledge). Their

domestic

interactions are funny and natural, and their healthy skepticism of the police has real consequences and informs their questionable decision-making.

The only weak link in the family is Williams, a stand-up comedian whose small, underwritten

role part

as mom to the Crandell kids doesnt play to her strengths.

Shes in a handful of scenes, and Meanwhile,

Tanyas

new

role model

at Libra

is

filled

portrayed by Nicole Richie,

playing her boss at Libra, Rose. Richie is

so dynamic and energizing onscreen you wonder why she doesnt act more. S

, and s

he has genuine chemistry with Jones.

This is the first major feature

film

directed by Allain-Marcus, an actor who co-starred on Insecure, and he does a lot to demonstrate his abilities and influences as a

director filmmaker

here. The cinematography by Matt Clegg is crisp and saturated, utilizing a lot of complex tracking shots, and there are nods to

70s-style filmmaking and retro touches like the yellow title font that drops about 18 minutes into the film. Some of these flourishes are slightly inconsistent with the material, but demonstrate a new

filmmaker voice

excited to experiment with the form of

the

teen comedy.

Dont Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead is surprisingly authentic and fun for

this kind of nostalgia-baiting

remake material, which is naturally formulaic. Its the focus on character

and allowing the actors to shine work

that

makes lets

this one sing, and it should make a star out of Jones, who, like her character, manages to hold it all together.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.