Main Cast: James Belushi, Kelly Lynch, Alisan Porter, John Getz, Fred Dalton Thompson
Release Year: 1991
Country: US
Run Time: 102 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
John Hughes dishes out the sentiment by the ladle-full in Curly Sue. The film stars James Belushi as Bill Dancer, a down-on-his-luck drifter who lives by his wits on the highways and byways of the United States, stealing free meals, slipping into movie theaters, and sleeping in welfare hotels. Bill is also the guardian of cute pint-size moppet Curly Sue (Alisan Porter), a cutey pie cross between Little Orphan Annie and Tatum O'Neal's Addie Loggins character from Paper Moon. Bill and Curly Sue are a perfect con team, and they practice their scams when they need money for food. Pulling a knockdown car-accident scam, Bill makes hard-bitten Chicago lawyer Grey Ellison (Kelly Lynch) think that she slammed into him with her car. She buys dinner for the two mountebanks before being taken away by her snotty boyfriend Walter McCormick (John Getz). But the next morning, Grey actually does hit Bill with her car, and she takes the two back home with her. At first, Grey can't seem to get Curly Sue out of her mind, but then she finds herself falling in love with Bill. They begin to form a perfect family until Walter puts in a call to the Department of Children and Family Services. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Cameron Thor - Maitre d'; Charles Adams - Prison Guard; John Ashton - Mr. Arnold (uncredited); Gail Boggs - Anise Hall; James W. Bolinski - Pawnbroker; Lyle Brown - Theater Patron; Nadine Burke - Social Worker; Burke Byrnes - Dr. Maxwell; Steve Carell - Tesio; Carol Chickering - Soprano; Grace Collette - Foster Mother; Viveka Davis - Trina; Ralph Foody - Drifter; Alonzo Hall - Cook; Patricia Hooker - 4th Store Clerk; Tammy Karabas-Brody - 3rd Store Clerk; Joel Levin - 2nd Store Clerk; Joe Liss - Ticket Taker; Edie McClurg - Secretary; Rocco Pecirno - Father of the Bride; Cedrick Pipes - Cook; Ely Pouget - Dinah Tompkins; Luke Reichle - 1st Store Clerk; Branscombe Richmond - Albert; Terrie Snell - Maggie; Barbara Tarbuck - Mrs. Arnold; Susan Mayer - Woman with Champagne Glass; Adele Robbins - DCGS Caseworker; Jane Jenkins; Janet Hirshenson
Credit
Steven Schwartz - Art Director, Lynn M. Morgan - Associate Producer, Michael Kaplan - Costume Designer, John Hughes - Director, Peck Prior - Editor, Harvey Rosenstock - Editor, Tarquin Gotch - Executive Producer, Georges Delerue - Composer (Music Score), Charles Wilborn - Musical Direction/Supervision, David E. Campbell - Musical Direction/Supervision, Michele Vice - Songwriter, Susan Mayer - Makeup, Ve Neill - Makeup, Doug Kraner - Production Designer, Lynn M. Morgan - Production Designer, Jeffrey Kimball - Cinematographer, Lynn M. Morgan - Production Manager, John Hughes - Producer, Gary Baugh - Set Designer, William Fosser - Set Designer, Marjorie Fritz-Birch - Set Designer, Samara Schaffer - Set Designer, Masako Masuda - Set Designer, John Gray - Special Effects, Gregg Rudloff - Sound/Sound Designer, John Reitz - Sound/Sound Designer, John Hughes - Screenwriter
Bill Dancer (Belushi) and his young companion Curly Sue (Porter) are the archetypal homeless folks with hearts of gold. Their scams are aimed not at turning a profit, but at getting enough to eat. When they scam the rich and beautiful divorce lawyer Grey Ellison (Kelly Lynch) into believing she backed her Mercedes into Bill, they're only hoping for a free meal. But after Grey accidentally hits Bill for real, she insists on putting the two up for the night, even over the objections of her snotty fiance. After a confrontation with Bill exposing the truth of the con, Grey lets them stay for as long as they need to when she understands the precarious position the homeless pair are in. 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 Curly Sue the life she deserves, altering his own life to meet those standards.
