“I think the original Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead was more of a fun teen romp. It was definitely a coming of age story, In the new version, we wanted to talk about what if a black family was in the same situation. The stakes get a bit higher because there’s a whole criminal justice element to it which we don’t harp on too much in the movie, but it’s a reminder that’s constantly in the back of your mind,” says screenwriter Chuck Hayward of the remake of Don’t Tell Mom.
He wanted to explore a non-traditional black family of a single mother with four single kids in the suburbs, how they interact with each other and how they grow and learn from each other. The original movie had five kids, but Hayward reduced it to four in his version to allow for more individual character focus.
The writers admits that kids were a bit more “free range” back then (the original was made in 1991) so leaving them alone for a period of time might not raise the attention of the authorities.
Ultimately, Don’t Tell Mom is about kids who didn’t have a lot of responsibility and freedom suddenly gain those things. The original movie was rated PG-13 while the remake is an R-rated comedy. Hayward adds that this allows for more profanity which more accurately represents how Americans speak today. “We are we are not a bashful and pearl clutching society on mass.” He didn’t simply write profanity for its own sake. “You’re watching funny people talk to each other.”
Chuck consulted screenwriters Neil Landau and Tara Ison from the original movie who were supportive of his homage to them.
“That movie means so much to me because it was one of the only things my sister and I bonded over when we were angsty.”
The writer also grappled with servicing two sets of audiences – one from the original and one from the new version. “I wanted to honor the memories of the audience in the original and lean on that nostalgia instead of insulting it,” he adds.
Chuck Hayward didn’t hold back on the motley crew of Crandell kids finding their way while their mother (Patricia Williams) went away to a relaxing spa following a nervous breakdown after being passed over for a promotion at work.
Meet The Crandell Kids
There’s seventeen year old Tanya (Simone Joy Jones), her stoner teen brother Kenny (Donielle T. Hensley Jr.), little sister Melissa (Ayaamii Sledge), and kid brother Zack (Carter Young) who have the house to themselves to do as they please.
“I think each of them is breaking the chains of respectability politics and letting their freak flags fly. It’s a freedom that I feel a lot of young black kids don’t feel they have. A lot of us are taught of stay in a lane and not to deviate from it too much, so having fun in that space was really important,” continues Hayward.
“Tanya is the eldest and thinks she knows the most out of all the kids. In some respect she does, but she also has the most to learn because she sees herself as a victim of sorts.” Her siblings constantly remind her that they’re all keeping the family together even though she’s out working.
Chuck Hayward. Photo by Melissa Chataigne
In collaborating to ensure her family stays together, Tanya discovers the overlooked talents of her siblings. In doing so, she has a new-found respect for them. The family element lies at the heart of the movie and teaches them to pay attention and not take each other for granted as each one “steps into their power.”
Tanya and her boss Rose (Nicole Ritchie) bounce off each other as Tanya displays maturity as she navigates working young adulthood. Rose is more than a comical jack in the box. She shows Tanya how the corporate world works especially in how women are perceived. In turn, Tanya helps Rose unwind from her tightly-wound interior covered by a cool controlled facade.
The matriarch’s presence is felt throughout the film despite her absence from most of it. “She runs a tight ship in that house. The kids can be a little bit weird, but they all know that mom lays down the hammer so we don’t cross her.” Her internal strength filters through to her kids. This drives them to band together and do what’s right for the family.
“You don’t get to see the mom in her normal state, but based on how the kids are interacting with her, you understand that it’s love, but it’s also discipline, which I think that’s pretty common in most black families.”
She’s the black matriarch who doesn’t practice self care until health problems arise. She metes out tough love and carries the emotional and financial burden of the family on her shoulders and refuses to show any weakness or vulnerability.
Despite the casting differences, Hayward “purposely stayed pretty close to the original because it was so well done. Honoring its legacy was super important to us.”
“This is such a beautiful house. We don’t want to tear it down and rebuild it from the studs. We just want to redecorate it, throw some paint on it and do some landscape architecture.”
There are some minor plot differences from the original. Mom went away on vacation with a man she just met in the original and she went to a spa in the new one. Chuck also wanted to raise the stakes more in the new version by making the kids wilder.
From Script To Screen
Chuck Hayward spent seven years to get Don’t Tell Mom made. He lost track of how many drafts he wrote.
I always outline. I need a lot of pre-writing because white pages terrify me
He first began by outlining his characters and deciding what elements to keep from the original film. Tanya is the main character here, so he started with her and how she grew from a new interaction with her siblings. “Tanya was almost in danger of becoming her mum by needing to be in control of everyone.” Hayward then focused on giving each character “very individual voices and arcs. There’s also a really beautiful romance between Tanya and Bryan (Miles Fowler) that reads older than in the original.”
Bryan is a positive influence on Tanya. In one scene, he explains to her that success in life is a destination. “Where you’re at is not as important as where you want to go.” Setting goals is essential. Otherwise, you’re a rudderless ship.
Young Kenny also displays remarkable wisdom when the paramedic arrives after babysitter Mrs. Sturak (June Squibb) dies. He gives them the details rather than Tanya. Later, Kenny calls her out for not having confidence in her siblings.
“If you paid more attention to us, or if you knew what we were capable of, we wouldn’t seem like such a burden to you.” This is a humbling moment for Tanya.
Don’t Tell Mom doesn’t mince its words. Mrs. Sturak is as nasty as they come and gleefully embraces every racist slur. “This woman has to be so terrible that you’re not sad when she dies. You should be happy to get her out of the way so the movie can continue.”
Although the movie isn’t original, Hayward tells his version of the story with an original voice. He only mimicked the structure of the original film. “In terms of the way the characters speak, the way that they look at the world, and the way they interact with each other is much more my world-building.” Hayward is now at a stage where he’s developing his own original shows which gives him a new sense of confidence and creative freedom.
Chuck Hayward describes his comedic voice as “worldview plus sense of humor plus finding the perfect thing to say in situations at the perfect time.”
We asked him his views on the traits of successful screenwriters. “I think it’s dysfunction, self-doubt, a little narcissism, a little OCD, boundless creativity and the ability to really listen and observe the world around you to see how people move, how they interact with each other, and hear how they speak to examine their dynamics. You have to be an empath or else your stuff’s gonna be ‘surfacey’ and it’s not going to connect on that on an emotional level.“
