Curly Sue

I'm going to give it a 10 just because the IMDb rating for this film is so surprisingly low. It deserves a higher rating. Whenever I'm feeling in a funk, I put this on and all my cares and worries just disappear! I've read the reviews and still don't understand why people don't like it...because a yuppie lawyer wouldn't fall in love with a bum, you say?! I am a career woman and still I was with a dumpster diver for 5 years. Love is blind, people. Plus, it's just a story and a good cute feel-good story. Curly Sue is adorable. How can you NOT fall in love with her?!! So, rent it, buy it and put it on when you're feeling blue. We could use more movies like this one for good old-fashion escape. Highly recommended.

This movie made me very happy. It's impossible not to love the smart and sweet orphan girl who changes the heart of a selfish lawyer only interested in pursuing success in her career. This is a very optimistic movie and I sincerely believe that we need more films like Curly Sue. It touched my heart.

Curly Sue is a 6 year old with an abundance of hair and a life as a drifter. She and her father, Bill (Jim Belushi), try to survive on the streets by being small time con artists. In Chicago, Bill decides to jump in front of a car in a pricey parking garage while Curly will scream about lawsuits and traction to the intended victim. It happens to be a very upscale lawyer named Grey (Kelly Lynch) who is appropriately appalled at what she has done. Not only do the scammers make some cash, they get to spend the night at Grey's plush apartment. Even then, Grey feels she owes them more so the three of them hang together for a spell. Grey only knows the lucrative law business and nothing about life. Who better to teach her than Bill and Curly, those savvy experts on life's realities? But, all good things must come to an end and there is no life for a legal expert and a couple of con men. Or is there? This is a sweet and funny movie about the unexpected. Curly is certainly as entertaining as Shirley Temple but much edgier, of course. Belushi gives a rare touching performance as the down on his luck con and Lynch is luminous as the snooty but soft touch lawyer. John Hughes, as writer and director, shows us his magic touch once again, as the script is lively and unpredictable. Just watch Curly and Bill take Grey out for a night, with no money, and see the humorous results. Do you long for happy endings, long promised and finally delivered, with a few uncertain moments in between? This is your made-to-order movie.

I remember having a pretty low regard for a venture like this when it was first released. James "Not Jim" Belushi, a hammy kid actress, and a cheesy title in a John Hughes formula. You couldn't have paid me to see it 15 years ago. But, I got caught up watching it while wasting away a Sunday afternoon, and it hits me on a couple of levels. The fairy tale (part Pretty Woman, part reverse Pretty Woman), the very vulnerable, Elizabeth_Perkins_in_Miracle_On_42nd_Street -like performance by Kelly Lynch, the escapism. Over all, it gently pulls some very nice strings. It's pretty hard not to fall into the story, develop a crush on Kelly Lynch, identify with James Belushi, dislike the stiff bad guy boyfriend, and laugh at the Curley Sue lines. Has all the ups and downs, with a happy ending, and the kind of message you want to hear. Go ahead, waste your time on this movie, it's worth it.

John Hughes brings us another sad tale of a character, who's heart is bigger than her wallet, or her guardian's brain.

James Belushi plays a bum. A man who has been unemployed traveling from city to city for the past ten or so years. And did I mention he travels with a little girl? Curly Sue is her name, and along with scams and easy ways of getting free food, and some money the two play a game with one another. Kelly Lynch, plays a very successful sophisticated lawyer, who happens to be the bait, for such a ploy the two decide to pull. After running over Bill (Belushi) with her car, she takes the two out for dinner in order to apologize for her actions. Throughout several other meetings with the two unfortunates, she takes them in for the night which turns into several nights.

It's a heart-warming tale of three unlikely people who find joy and happiness with one another. However, be prepared, that as funny as most of Hughes' films are, this one tends to be much more dramatic than you might think. But a wonderful piece that will stay with you years after you see it.

I give this film a 7 out of 10 (10 being the highest). Although I enjoy it thoroughly, it's still not the best movie Hughes has ever made or written.

And that's my review.