Curly Sue

For the song, seeCurly Sue (song).

Curly Sue
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Hughes
Written by	John Hughes
Produced by	John Hughes
Starring	James Belushi Kelly Lynch Alisan Porter
Cinematography	Jeffrey L. Kimball
Edited by	Peck Prior Harvey Rosenstock
Music by	Georges Delerue
Production company	Hughes Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	October 25, 1991(1991-10-25)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25 million
Box office	$33.7 million

Curly Sueis a 1991 Americancomedy dramafilm written, produced, and directed byJohn Hughes,and starringJames Belushi,Kelly LynchandAlisan Porter.It tells the story of a homelesscon artistand his young orphan companion who gain shelter with a rich divorce lawyer. This was the final film directed by Hughes before his death in 2009. The film received generally negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Bill Dancer and his young companion 7-year-old Curly Sue, anorphanedgirl who Bill took in as a baby, are homeless folks with hearts of gold. Their scams are aimed not at turning a profit but at getting enough to eat. One night, while they are sleeping at a shelter, Sue's tin ring, which was left to her by her late mother, is stolen and pawned by a drifter.

After moving from Detroit to Chicago, the duo succeed in conning a rich divorce lawyer named Grey Ellison into believing she backed herMercedesinto Bill. When Grey accidentally collides with Bill for real the following night, she insists on putting the two up for the night over the objections of her snotty boyfriend Walker McCormick. After a confrontation exposing the con, Bill admits the truth and tells Grey it's time for him and Sue to move on. Thinking Bill has been abusing Sue by using her in his cons, Grey demands that the girl stay with her, but Bill will not leave Sue. Grey lets them stay when she understands the precarious position the homeless pair are in.

Walker, out of spite, turns them in, and Sue is taken away bychild protective services,while Bill is arrested because he never had custody of the child. While in jail, he encounters the drifter who stole Sue's ring and forces him to reveal what he did with it. Grey arrives to get Bill out of jail and has also gotten Sue out of state care.

After learning that the drifter took the ring to apawn shopand sold it, Bill buys it back. Sue and Grey return to their apartment and discover the ring, which Sue takes as a sign that Bill has decided the time has come for them to part. However, the ring is accompanied by a note saying Bill is in the living room.

Grey and Billlegally adoptSue and are subsequently married. The film ends with them dropping Sue off on her first day of school.

Cast

• James Belushias Bill Dancer
• Kelly Lynchas Grey Ellison
• Alisan Porteras Curly Sue
• John Getzas Walker McCormick
• Fred Thompsonas Bernard Oxbar
• Branscombe Richmondas Albert
• Gail Boggsas Anise Hall
• Viveka Davisas Trina
• Barbara Tarbuckas Mrs. Arnold
• Cameron Thoras Maître d'
• Edie McClurgas Secretary
• Steve Carellas Tesio (credited as Steven Carell; in his film acting debut)
• Burke Byrnesas Dr. Maxwell
• John Ashtonas Mr. Frank Arnold (uncredited)

Release

The film debuted at No. 2 at the box office with a gross of $4,974,958 on 1,634 screens.The following weekend it increased its weekend gross by seven percent to $5.3million from the same number of screens and remained in second place.In its third weekend it continued on the same number of screens and managed to move into first place, taking more in its third week than in its first or second.Its final gross in the U.S. and Canada was $33,691,313.

Home media

Warner Home Videoreleased it on VHS and Laserdisc in 1992 and later on DVD on June 1, 2004, with commentary and an introduction by Porter on special features.

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. OnRotten Tomatoes,Curly Sueholds a 13% rating based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 3.7/10.Audiences surveyed byCinemaScoregave the film a grade of "B+" on scale of A+ to F.

Leonard Maltingave it one and a half stars out of four in hisMovie Guide,and called it "A John Hughes formula movie where the formula doesn't work".

Halliwell's Film Guidecalls it "Gruesomely sentimental and manipulative".

Nigel Andrews of theFinancial Timesdeclared, "John Hughes here graduates fromthe most successful comedy in film historyto scripting and directing a large piece of non-biodegradabletosh."

Roger Ebertgave the film three out of four stars, complimenting "the quiet humor and the warmth of the actors." He said the movie is "not great and it's not deep, but it sure does have a heart."

External links

• Curly SueatIMDb
• Curly Sueat theTCM Movie Database
• Curly SueatAllMovie