D_Burke "Curly Sue" has the distinction of being John Hughes's last directorial effort. After an impressive catalog of modern-day classics with him at the director's chair, beginning with "Sixteen Candles" (1984) and ending (before this movie) with "Uncle Buck" (1989) and not one bad movie within that list, Hughes didn't quite make his winning streak complete with this film.It's not that "Curly Sue" is a bad film. It isn't at all, actually. It's just a film with a noticeable identity crisis, and it's either that fact or its poor home video distribution over the years that has prevented it from being considered one of the quintessential John Hughes classics.A movie about an precocious, cunning, homeless girl who hones her con-artist skills with the help of her deadbeat father invites itself to comedy. However, it seems as if Hughes focused more on the homeless aspect of Curly Sue, and the film felt more dramatic than it should have been.That isn't so much the fault of the story as it is with the instrumental main title of the movie, composed by Groeges Delerue with an unforgettable leading clarinet solo. It's a beautiful piece, but one that gave the entire film a melancholy feeling right from the start that never felt quite fitting.That is not to say I did not like the film, or that the film should have been a flat-out farce. It just did not have the same kind of balance of comedy and drama that the John Hughes-penned classic "Home Alone" (1990) had, and the previews for "Curly Sue" promised a comedy.Fortunately, Alison Lohman was absolutely adorable as Curly Sue. Whether she was in rags or in skirts bought at Lord & Taylor, she exuded a charisma some adult actors take years to learn.Lohman never utters a catchphrase, but she owned the movie. How she did not elevate to the same child star status as Macaulay Culkin is beyond me, although she fortunately did not end up like him either.Jim Belushi, as Curly Sue's father, was pretty good, although I could not help but think that he was trying to emulate Bill Murray in this movie more so than any other he has done before and since. It is to his credit that he never attempted to play any of the kinds of characters his late older brother played, but he could have been more original here too.I also enjoyed Kelly Lynch as Grey Ellison, a strong, independent attorney who ultimately gets conned into taking in Curly Sue and her father. Lynch plays a female protagonist refreshingly unlike many that populate romantic comedies, and its a character we rarely see in family movies even today.I did take issue with the decisions Grey made with her career as the movie progressed and she grew more fond of Curly Sue. She started out with a lifestyle modern feminists could applaud, only to make an ultimate decision that one could say flies in feminists' faces.There are some other areas in the movie where the main characters perform questionable actions, and the reactions of those around are equally improbable. One scene has Belushi's character repeatedly punching a rude maître d' in the face, only for the man to continue grovelling without even a blemish, or anyone else ever reacting to it.There's another scene when Curly Sue explains how she got her nickname, which was not from her curly hair. It turns out another vagabond thought she looked like Curly from the Three Stooges, which doesn't make sense given how much hair Curly had. Plus, Curly's nickname was ironic, whereas Curly Sue's is fitting for obvious reasons.The character of Curly Sue is not one for whom you are supposed to feel bad. She should be an iconic character about whom children, especially young girls, fantasize because of her freedom and her street smarts.Unfortunately, the Delerue-composed theme music gave the film a more depressing tone from which it never recovered, not even during the funny parts. And when you feel bad for a girl based not on what she does on screen, but because of a piece of music that almost tells you how you should feel, who would want to look up to her?

Steve Pulaski John Hughes' Curly Sue is the film equivalent to a box of chocolates. When it's given to you it looks beautiful, sweet, harmless, and lovely, but as time goes on, it becomes sticky, disgusting, and before you know it, it's time to throw it away. Curly Sue starts out promising, progresses pretty quickly, but there are instances that are questionable and not very necessary.This went on to be Hughes' final film in the director position. Many opinions have been tossed around why. Some says its failure is the reason why he quit the position, some say he just got tired of working in the film industry, and others say after he got off the train of adolescence, he wanted to do something completely different. Whatever the case may be, I can still say that Curly Sue is not a horrible film, but a film that clearly lacks confidence in its current state. Everything about this spells drama, but it seems during production, Hughes made up his mind that he wanted this to be a comedy too. There's a lot of directionless hitting with cheap, slapstick sound effects that don't fit at all to this movie, and really throw a wrench under the screenplay's tires. There are shots of Jim Belushi being thrown into a bus, people being punched in the face, and so on. It gets to be much and it shows a grand lack of confidence when a drama needs to throw punches.The plot revolves around Bill Dancer (Belushi) and his pint-sized, precocious accomplice Curly Sue (Porter) who go around conning people to give them money so they can pay for their next meal. They are the kind of guys that will run up to the back of your car and fall down to make it look like you hit them, so they can get a little money from you. They manage to trick bitter divorce lawyer Grey Ellison (Lynch) by using the same practice, and kindly takes them into her home despite her husband's better wishes.Alisan Porter is perhaps the cutest thing in the film. Her character is so harmless and cheery that she is effortlessly likable throughout the course of the film. There's one scene where it is clearly nippy outside and she tells Bill "I'm freezing my balls off." Bill replies "you don't have balls to freeze off." She is impossible not to like, and she offers more than her curly hair and cute smile.The film doesn't go anywhere very quickly, and the effect it leaves is moot at best. The characters are cute, the plot is sufficient, but the overwhelming amount of slapstick and the sort of manipulation the film possesses is enough to turn someone off. John Hughes has been called "the philosopher of adolescence" and speaks to a generation who once thought that nobody could define them. He should've reminded himself that sentimental kid comedies were a dime a dozen.Starring: James Belushi, Kelly Lynch, and Alisan Porter. Directed by: John Hughes.

nelsonnelson I have to agree with Cal-37 it's a great movie, specially for the family, Kelly Linch is beautiful, the little girl is really talented and cute, of course Jim Belushi has earned his strips! But want I really liked was the piano song, if you're a musician or not watch this movie just for that, you'll know which it is."You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" Written by Russ Morgan, Larry Stock, and James CavanaughSo have fun watchingSee ya,Nelson

stephenhow 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.