History Film / DontTellMomTheBabysittersDead

* EatTheDog: After the kids return home from the supermarket and only being able to afford the necessities, one of the kids jokes about using their pet dog as emergency rations.

** Melissa even suggested [[EatTheDog they eat Elvis when they run out of food]].

* {{Sadist}}: Melissa gleefully suggested [[EatTheDog they can eat Elvis]] when their food's gone.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Carolyn eventually exposes Sue Ellen's deception to Rose... but instead of being impressed, Rose calls her out for thinking that backstabbing an employee who has worked her ass off to rescue the company will earn her any favor. Not to mention doing so in the middle of the huge presentation that is crucial to that rescue.
** Also the initial situation: Carolyn is supposed to be promoted to Rose's executive administration assistant. But she's so unpleasant to be around that Rose can't stand her, and hires someone who literally walked in ten minutes before instead (without even checking her resume) so she doesn't have to spend long workdays with someone she doesn't like or get along with (although reality seems to have sat it out when it comes to Carolyn still having a job ''at all'', let alone being promoted in spite of her incredibly rude, hostile and bitchy behavior).
** Sue Ellen actually doing well at her job: her resume might be a crock, but she gets along very well once she asks Kimmy for help with the technical things like the QED report. Sue Ellen learns fast (she works out the fax machine while watching Kimmy do it), and at executive levels, delegating responsibility is actually expected of you (which Carolyn doesn't figure out). Also, a great deal of what we see Sue Ellen do depends on what's now called 'soft skills' - communicating with other departments, keeping track of what other people are doing so she can keep Rose up to date, and generally getting along with people and managing them. Soft skills are actually highly sought after, especially at the executive level.

* DeadpanSnarker / MouthyKid: The apathy displayed by the Crandell siblings towards their own mother, let alone Mrs. Sturak, places the film firmly in the late 80's/early 90's era, when movie parents were ''far'' more often depicted as [[BumblingDad incompetent bunglers]] and/or [[EducationMama overly strict]], requiring avoidance at all costs.

* [[DragQueen Drag Queens]]: Liza Minelli steals their CoolCar.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Kenny's real name is "Kenneth", but we don't find that out until the end.

* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: Sue Ellen lies about her age and falsifies a resume in order to get a job with a clothing production company. Everyone there assumes she's in her late-20s.

* HappinessIsMandatory: This is what finally convinces Sue Ellen to quit her job at Clown Dog.

* HeCleansUpNicely: Kenny after a neat haircut and [[SupremeChef newly-acquired culinary skills]] [[spoiler:causes his crush Nicole to finally notice him]].

* HomeEarlySurprise: Mrs. Crandell who cut her vacation by a week to see Sue Ellen holding a massive party, really it's an elaborate fashion show to save GAW. She was not pleased to say the least and the ruse Sue Ellen constructed over the course of summer vacation to maintain her job had come undone just like that.

* ItsAllAboutMe: The Crandells are pretty self-absorbed as they only care about having a free summer and think they don't need adult supervision. When Mrs. Sturak dies, instead of telling their mom about Mrs. Sturak's death, they drop her off at a mortuary as they're only concerned about their mom ''blaming them'' for Mrs. Sturak's death instead of her death so they can enjoy their summer.

** Gus, especially with how he flirts with an underage Sue Ellen and is planning to cheat on Rose behind her back.

** Carolyn is a petty person that looks down on everyone despite being a secretary who is very bad at her job to the point where her boss, Rose, can't stand being around her. Her partner in crime, Bruce, is also not exactly what one would call a prince among men.

** Also the kids getting away with dumping Mrs. Sturak's body at the mortuary (presumably because Mrs. Sturak stole the money their mom left for them was with her body, and the mortuary workers took it, covered up the irregularity and kept the cash).

* MetalHead: Kenny.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Kenneth is his full name but we don't find that out until the end and was called Kenny throughout the film.
* OnlySaneWoman: Sue Ellen, as she is forced to be the breadwinner for the family since Mrs. Sturak stole all the money meant for the family to buy groceries and her siblings are too lazy to work.

* PerpetualSmiler: Mr. Egg not only flashes million-watt smiles all the time but also made his employees do the same, around the clock and after working hours.

* PretendingToBeOnesOwnRelative: Sue Ellen lied to her boss and co-workers about being her own divorced mother and that her siblings are her children in order to keep any questions of her home life at minimal. This works due to the real Mrs. Crandell taking a vacation in Australia and therefore would not interfere in the plot.

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: We're supposed to side with the Crandell siblings because they don't get a free summer and that they don't tell their mother that Mrs. Sturak dies in her sleep because they're afraid she'll blame them and decide that they can fend for their own.

** Also the initial situation: Carolyn is supposed to be promoted to Rose's executive administration assistant. But she's so unpleasant to be around that Rose can't stand her, and hires someone who literally walked in ten minutes before instead (without even checking her resume) so she doesn't have to spend long workdays with someone she doesn't like or get along with.

* FictionBusinessSavvy: The new fashion designs did not look cool in the 1990s or in the world of fashion.

* TheStoner: Kenny. He has a marijuana leaf poster on his bedroom door, uses a bong, he and his friends had the "munchies" which is why he and his friends ate groceries bought just the day before.

** Also the kids getting away with dumping Mrs. Sturak's body at the mortuary (presumably because they accidentally left all of the money their mom left for them on her body, and the mortuary workers took it and covered up the irregularity so they could keep it).

* TheStoner: Kenny. He has a marijuana leaf poster on his bedroom door, uses a bong, he and his friends had the "munchies" for blowing through groceries bought just the day before.

* TheStoner: Kenny. He has a marijuana leaf poster on his bedroom door, he and his friends had the "munchies" for blowing through groceries bought just the day before.

* TheStoner: Kenny.

* AnythingThatMoves: Gus gets around a lot and wastes no time trying to get Sue Ellen into bed.

** Later, when the car is stolen, Kenny's line "What are you bitches doing in our car?" was changed to "What are you queens doing in our car?". Afterward, Sue Ellen is clearly saying "Shit!" but the line was re-dubbed to "Liza!"

** Though bizarrely, when Kenny's marijuana plant falls off his window ledge and smashes, he lets out a weary "Fuck!", which is typically acknowledged as far worse curse than "prick".

* SuccessSymbiosis: Sue Ellen gets a job in the fashion industry by lying about her age and keeps it because a mostly overlooked employee from another department is doing all the technically complex stuff for her.