Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Sue Ellen Crandell is a teenager eagerly awaiting her mother's summer-long absence. While the babysitter looks after her rambunctious younger siblings, Sue Ellen can party and have fun. But then the babysitter abruptly dies, leaving the Crandells short on cash. Sue Ellen finds a sweet job in fashion by lying about her age and experience on her résumé. But, while her siblings run wild, she discovers the downside of adulthood
A charming early-90s comedy with a reasonably fresh premise—teen forced into adult responsibility while siblings run amok—elevated by Christina Applegate's engaging lead performance. The plot has good comic energy but loses steam in the second half and resolves predictably. Cinematography is purely functional, typical of the era's light comedies with no visual ambition. Novelty earns a slight edge for its specific, memorable setup (dead babysitter as catalyst) even if the fish-out-of-water workplace comedy is familiar territory. The ending wraps up neatly but without much punch, falling into sitcom-safe territory.