Christina Applegate has a bit of a perception problem.
Not that she's complaining or anything. If you'd managed to do what she has done with the dumbest of dumb-blond roles on television - "Married . . . With Children's" teen sex queen Kelly Bundy - you'd have a lot to be proud of. A demure, thoughtful 19-year-old who has been in front of television cameras since she was an infant, Applegate is the kind of responsible, level-headed professional the entertainment industry adores.And she obviously has talent. Playing a space case like Kelly week after week - and, over the show's five-year run, to keep her fresh, surprising and ever-more-convincing - takes ability. But that's part of why Applegate has a perception problem. She's so good as Kelly, people assume that's all she can do.
"What's funny is, `Married . . .With Children' is the first comedy that I ever did," said the soft-spoken, freckle-faced Applegate, whose off-screen persona is all girl next door, no neighborhood tramp.
"Before that, I always did drama, I was always the person with problems. I'd go on auditions when I was younger and they'd say, `She's too soft, too sensitive and dramatic for this comedy.'
"Now, people are asking, `Can she actually act? Can she do drama?' It's so weird how things change, but I guess I've proven myself in one way. I can do comedy, and now I have to go back to what I suppose is my forte."
Applegate is getting opportunities to show other aspects of her talent as she branches out into feature films. Last year, she gave a critically acclaimed - but barely seen - performance as a 16-year-old junkie in the low-budget, straight-to-video thriller "Streets."
Although her new movie, "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead," is hardly in the same dramatic category as "Streets," it will undoubtedly introduce more viewers to Applegate's creative range. She actually plays the straight part in Stephen Herek's ("Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure") comedy, which combines elements of "Home Alone," "Working Girl" and numerous teen party movies.
Applegate is Sue Ellen "Swell" Crandell, a suburban Los Angeles teenager who's keyed to the max about her single mother's summer plans. Mom's going to Australia for a few months, leaving Swell in charge of her four younger siblings and, more importantly, free of any supervision herself.
Or so she thinks, until Mom springs a wicked old baby sitter on the Crandell kids as she leaves for the airport. The ornery woman threatens to ruin everybody's summer - until, conveniently, she dies.
Because the cash Mom left is lost along with the baby sitter's corpse, Swell has to get a job. Faking a resume, the newly minted high school graduate lands a high-pressure, executive assistant job at a fashion manufacturer. After bluffing her way through unfamiliar procedures from faxing to flow-charting all day, she returns home to the myriad responsibilities of raising four kids every night.
- SPOTLIGHT ON CHRISTINA APPLEGATE:
Age: 19.
Hometown: Los Angeles, in Laurel Canyon.
TV series: "Heart of the City" (ABC); "Washington" (Showtime); "Married . . . With Children" Favorite book: "Illusions'.'