History Film / DontTellMomTheBabysittersDead

* AdultFear: What if something happened to the babysitter and your kids were left to fend for themselves? True, the Crandalls ''chose'' to fend for themselves, learned to rely on each other to get by and [[spoiler:aside from Walter's accident]] turned out okay in the end, but still.
** Not to mention the situation that sets up the climax: one sales campaign gone horribly wrong, and the entire uniform division of GAW is under threat. At least half of Sue Ellen's workmates are facing unemployment.

* DramaticDislocation: Thanks to Kenny being too preoccupied with his stoning session, an unsupervised Walter broke his leg from falling off the roof while fixing the TV antenna. This became the turning point where the Crandell kids finally take responsibility, especially Kenny, since shortly afterward GAW is on the brink of bankruptcy and Sue-Ellen needs to pull off an extravagant fashion show at their not-so extravagant house to pay off the petty cash.

%%* AlmostKiss:

%%* CharacterDevelopment:

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

%%** Gus again.
%%** Also, [[BabysitterFromHell Mrs. Sturak]].
%%** As well as Carolyn and Bruce.
** The Crandell siblings can be this too, especially Kenny, who spends all of his time smoking weed with his friends instead of taking care of the younger siblings like he's supposed to.

* OutOfFocus: The younger Crandell siblings, Zach, Melissa and Kenny, are not as prominent in the film as Sue Ellen and Kenny are. This is because it focuses on the two slowly taking responsibility as the breadwinner and homemaker of the family respectively.

* ZanyScheme: The whole movie. %%It rides on the fact

* WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief: Carolyn, the GAW employee, still having a job. Even before Sue Ellen shows up, she is shown being very rude and condescending on the phone. It may have been a personal call, but when Sue Ellen simply asks for directions, Carolyn bites her head off. Rose can't even stand Carolyn, and in the real world, she would have been fired after the first (''maybe'' second) time she spoke to someone like that. More baffling is the fact that she was ''supposed to get a promotion'' despite the fact that she both had horrible customer service skills and treated everybody around her like shit.
** Obviously a PointyHairedBoss in training.

** 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, and generally getting along with people and managing them. Soft skills are actually highly sought after, especially at the executive level.

** Not to mention 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.

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

** And as Sue Ellen points out in return, [[spoiler: taking out a couple of hundred dollars for groceries, a pair of boots and a magazine (which she intended to replace once she got her paycheck at the end of the month) doesn't really compare to wiping out what must be at least $10,000 worth of petty cash to buy stereo and tv system that takes up half the living room wall.]]

* Also, Sue Ellen's family nickname "Swell", could also be a reference to Creator/ChristinaApplegate's then-famous figure.

* BitchAlert: Carolyn is introduced as a snooty receptionist who not only publicly humiliates Sue Ellen for going to the wrong location to interview for the position and speaks to her like she's stupid, but isn't above badmouthing her to the person she was on the phone with even though she didn't even know her name.

* 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 hard stuff for her.

* 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.

* JerkassHasAPoint: When Sue Ellen chews her siblings out for [[spoiler: stealing from her]], Kenny points out rather smugly that they were "just following your irresponsible example," and he is 100% correct.

* BenevolentBoss: Sue Ellen's boss Rose at GAW is ''definitely'' this, [[spoiler: even forgiving her for her deception when it is revealed, and offering her a job ''for real''.]]

* AccidentalAesop: Carolyn doesn't seem to ever figure out that if you're an unpleasant, petty person who's mean and disrespectful to everyone else - including people higher up the company food chain - people will go to pretty drastic lengths to avoid having to spend a large amount of time with you. Including hiring a walk-in applicant for the promotion you were supposed to get because they literally can't stand you and hate the thought of having to spend long workdays around you.

* AccidentalPervert: Gus propositions Sue Ellen several times to which she refuses, and he has no intention of letting up. He doesn't know it, but she's 17.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Gus is definitely a total sleazeball for his unsubtly and aggressively pursuing Sue-Ellen behind Rose's back, not caring if she's (allegedly) divorced with children. But once she reveals her actual age, he abandons the effort and attempts to make up with Rose, since [[PaedoHunt having sex with an underaged girl]] is never a good idea.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Gus is definitely a total sleazeball for his unsubtly and aggressively concurring Sue-Ellen to sleep with him behind Rose's back, not caring if she's (allegedly) divorced with children. But once she revealed her actual age to be 17, he immediately ditches her to (unsuccessfully) go back to Rose, since [[PaedoHunt having sex with an underaged girl]] is never a good idea.

* RealityEnsues: 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.

* {{Tomboy}}: Melissa.

* 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.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Gus is definitely a total sleazeball for his unsubtly and aggressively concurring Sue-Ellen to sleep with him behind Rose's back, not caring if she's (allegedly) [[HotMom divorced with children]]. But once she revealed her actual age to be 17, he immediately ditches her to (unsuccessfully) go back to Rose, since [[PaedoHunt having sex with an underaged girl]] is never a good idea.

* HotMom: Gus already finds Sue-Ellen very attractive compared to Rose but her [[PretendingToBeOnesOwnRelative allegedly being a divorced mother with four kids]] doesn't waver his efforts to woo her. Also when it's revealed that Sue-Ellen's "son" is in the hospital, her co-workers were in disbelief that she even has a son in spite of her youthful looks.

* {{Jerkass}}: Gus again.
** Also, [[BabysitterFromHell Mrs. Sturak]].
** As well as Carolyn and Bruce.

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

* EveryoneHasStandards: Gus is definitely a total sleazeball for his unsubtly and aggressively concurring Sue-Ellen to sleep with him behind Rose's back, not caring if she's (allegedly) [[HotMom divorced with children]], but once she revealed her actual age to be 17, he immediately ditches her

* DramaticDislocation: Thanks to Kenny being too preoccupied with his stoning session, an unsupervised Walter broke his leg from falling off the roof while fixing the TV antenna. This became the turning point where the Crandell kids finally take responsibility, especially Kenny, since shortly afterward GAW is on the brink of bankruptcy and Sue-Ellen needs to pull off an extravagant presentation at their not-so extravagant house to pay off the petty cash.

* HypercompetentSidekick: technically Katherine doesn't work for Sue Ellen, but she is perfectly happy to have Sue Ellen delegate her work to her (presumably so Sue Ellen will put in a good word for her down the line).

* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: When Sue Ellen comes home late from work, the fight she and Kenny have is a typical "harried, overworked, exhausted housewife" vs. "harried, overworked, exhausted husband" argument--with ''Kenny'' as the "wife" and ''Sue Ellen'' as the "husband".

%%* PuppyLove:

* CharacterDevelopment:

%%* DramaticDislocation:

* EvilDuo: Bruce and Carolyn are both petty, vindictive, and slimy people. They seem perfectly happy together.

* HeCleansUpNicely: Kenny, which causes [[spoiler:Nicole to finally notice him]].

* 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.

* TeamChef: Kenny, who is charged with taking care of the younger siblings while Sue Ellen works. At first, he can't even make waffles without burning them to a crisp, but with practice (and watching a lot of cooking shows) he becomes a very good cook and also discovers that he enjoys cooking. By the end of the movie, he is preparing gourmet dishes for Sue Ellen's fashion show and contemplates going to culinary school.

* ZanyScheme: The whole movie.

* BurgerFool: Sue Ellen briefly works at one of these before quitting to get a white-collar job at GAW. Her boyfriend Bryan is a more permanent example until he goes off to college and even drives around a goofy food truck throughout the course of the movie.

* PromotionToParent: When the elderly babysitter unexpectedly dies, the two oldest siblings are left to manage the household. Sue Ellen has to get a job after their money runs out, while Kenny has to stay at home to take care of their three younger siblings. Sue later calls out Kenny for behaving pretty irresponsibly himself by ignoring his new role.

* BurgerFool: Sue Ellen briefly works at one of these before quitting and getting the job at GAW. Her boyfriend Bryan is a more permanent example until he goes off to college and even drives around a goofy food truck throughout the course of the movie.