Curly Sue

For the song by Takida, see Curly Sue (song).
Curly Sue

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Hughes
Produced by John Hughes
Written by John Hughes
Starring James Belushi
Kelly Lynch
Alisan Porter
John Getz
Fred Dalton Thompson
Music by Georges Delerue
Cinematography Jeffrey L. Kimball
Edited by Peck Prior
Harvey Rosenstock
Production
company
Hughes Entertainment
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release dates
  • October 25, 1991
Running time
 102 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $25 million[1]
Box office $33.6 million

Curly Sue is a 1991 American romantic comedy-drama film and starred Jim Belushi, Kelly Lynch and Alisan Porter as the titular character. It was the final film directed by John Hughes and the only John Hughes film distributed by Warner Bros. Its music was composed by Georges Delerue, along with the end title song "You Never Know" performed by Ringo Starr.[2]

Plot

Bill Dancer and his young companion Curly Sue are the archetypal homeless folks with hearts of gold. Their scams are aimed not at turning a profit, but at getting enough to eat. After moving from Detroit to Chicago, the duo cons the rich divorce lawyer Grey Ellison into believing she backed her Mercedes into Bill, in hopes of a free meal. When Grey accidentally collides with Bill for real, she insists on putting the two up for the night, even over the objections of her snotty fiance Walker McCormick. After a confrontation with Bill exposing the truth of the con, Grey lets them stay for as long as they need when she understands the precarious position the homeless pair are in. One night, Bill tells Grey that he's not Sue's father, he met Sue's mother one night in Florida. After Sue's mother died, Bill raised her himself, growing to love her like his own, thus when they lost their home and money, Bill couldn't find it in his heart to give Sue up and put her into an orphanage, so he took Sue with him. Grey, thinking Bill has been neglecting and abusing Sue by using her in his cons and scams, suggests Sue stay with her when he leaves, but this only angers Bill, who says that after all the years he's looked after her, if he gave up Sue now, people would make fun of her for being on welfare. He tells her that he is not neglecting or abusing Sue; he cares about Sue and his cons are to provide for Sue. As they get to know each other, Bill becomes convinced that this is where Curly Sue belongs - in a home, cared for by someone that can give her the advantages that his homeless, nomadic existence lacks. He strives to give her the life she deserves, altering his own life to meet those standards.

Cast

Release

The film debuted at No. 2 at the box office[3] and grossed $33,691,313 in the U.S.[4] Warner Home Video released it on DVD on June 1, 2004 with commentary and an introduction by Alisan Porter as special features.

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. Leonard Maltin gave it one and a half stars out of four in his Movie Guide, and called it "A John Hughes formula movie where the formula doesn't work".[5] The staff of Halliwell's Film Guide called it "Gruesomely sentimental and manipulative".[6] Nigel Andrews of the Financial Times declared, "John Hughes here graduates from the most successful comedy in film history to scripting and directing a large piece of non-biodegradable tosh."[6] Curly Sue holds a 14% rating according to Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews.

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Curly Sue (1991) - Soundtracks
  3. ↑ "House Party 2` Tops At Box Office". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-11-12.
  4. ↑ "Box office information for Curly Sue". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
  5. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (2008). "Curly Sue". Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2009. Signet Books. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-452-28978-9.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gritten, David, ed. (2007). "Curly Sue". Halliwell's Film Guide 2008. Hammersmith, London: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 276. ISBN 0-00-726080-6.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Curly Sue