Alright, so this one might not be the most believable teen movie of all time, but it makes up for it with a ton of charm. A mother goes away on an extended vacation, leaving her children with an elderly babysitter, who promptly dies on pretty much the first night she's there. Rather than trying to get a hold of their mom, they decide that they can manage on their own for a few months. So they do what any normal kids would do: put the babysitter in a trunk and drop her off at the nearest hospital. But their budgeting skills aren't very good, and they run out of money pretty early on in this whole adventure, leaving eldest sibling Christina Applegate to get a job to support the family. The enterprising teenager manages to find a job as an assistant at a fashion company. Yes, you read that right. The girl with no college degree or experience snags a cool, glamorous job with plenty of room for growth. It must have been cool heading into the workforce while the country wasn't in a recession. Anyway, the film takes the teen fantasy of ultimate independence and takes it to a logical, if somewhat unbelievable, conclusion. Plus, you've got a young Josh Charles (from The Good Wife) starring as Christina Applegate's ice-cream truck-driving boyfriend, which is kind of reason enough to give it a watch.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
