It would seem that a revamped Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead is fast approaching theaters. June Squibb stars as the dead babysitter, and Nicole Richie is Rose, who I gather from Wikipedia (I’ve not seen the original, oops) is a businesswoman who hires the main teenager character as an assistant. Nicole, by the by, is a very funny performer — if you can find Great News anywhere, she’s a hoot in it, to the point where I can’t sort out why she hasn’t gotten another part in a comedy or at least been stunt-cast as a ghost in Ghosts, or on Abbott, or as a veejay in Girls5Eva flashbacks. (Don’t tell, but I think she would have done Busy Philipps’s role way better.) And she looks pretty sensational here; that fits like a dream and the neckline is stunning. What a dreamboat. Interestingly, per Wikipedia, Tyra Banks was originally cast as the mom, but had to pull out because of scheduling (I wonder…), but “[s]he served as executive producer and creative advisor through her SMiZE Productions, where she consulted with the film’s marketing strategy.” Politely: What marketing strategy? This premiere is the first I’ve heard of it. Am I alone in this? Maybe I just missed it, but sincerely, even if you knew it was coming, was it because of any unusual marketing other than ads and talk shows? This is Tyra and SMiZE Productions we’re talking about; I would expect something big and wackadoo and atypical, like a bespoke ice cream, at the very least. Dead Babysitter Dark Chocolate. Rigor Mortis Marshmallow. Gravedigger Gianduja. Undertaker Ube. Come on, folks, get some trucks out and MARKET. I guess “consulted with the film’s marketing strategy” could also mean “sent a lot of emails that went nowhere.”
