Curly Sue

Warner. Director John Hughes; Producer John Hughes; Screenplay John Hughes; Camera Jeffrey Kimball; Editor Peck Prior, Harvey Rosenstock; Music Georges Delerue;; Art Director Doug Kraner

James Belushi
Kelly Lynch
Alisan Porter
John Getz
Fred Dalton Thompson
Cameron Thor

This predictable crowd-pleaser is at heart a two-hanky affair, a mix of childish gags and shameless melodrama.

Pic clearly aspires to Capraesque sentimentality: a drifting con man (James Belushi) and his adopted nine-year-old daughter (Alisan Porter) scam a corporate attorney (Kelly Lynch) and gradually win her heart, much to the chagrin of her snotty boyfriend (John Getz).

Writer-helmer-producer John Hughes strikes an uneasy balance between slapstick and sappiness, far too frequently relying on Porter's mugging and Georges Delerue's drippingly sentimental score.

Lynch gives an impressive performance that proves to be the film's high point. Belushi is less convincing as the protective dad, while Porter is in the tear-evoking-tots tradition.

(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1991. Running time: 101 MIN.

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