

Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada's father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse...
Acting
Anna Chlumsky's pitch-perfect kid performance—never cutesy, always real
Writing
Dialogue that nails how kids actually talk about death, love, everything
Production
1972 Pennsylvania funeral home aesthetic is weirdly cozy

Director
Howard Zieff
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'bee scene' used 300,000 live bees; Macaulay Culkin was stung three times but kept filming.
Released at peak Culkin mania post-Home Alone, this film deliberately subverted his invincible kid persona—audiences were NOT ready.
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