Episode #90: Curly Sue
Listen to Episode 90 of the Podcast here while you enjoy the show notes.
SUMMARY - In Curly Sue, Homeless man Bill Dancer (played by Jim Belushi) is traveling across the country with his young companion Curly Sue (played by Alisan Porter). They occasionally scam people in order to get a free meal by faking car accidents. When they return to one of their marks to try to get more food, Bill ends up getting hit for real and the good samaritan takes them back home.
Screenplay by John Hughes; Directed by John Hughes; and released on October 25, 1991.
FILM DISCUSSION
There's a weird opening montage over the credits that doesn't actually explain anything. It shows Bill with Curly Sue in a house and then suddenly hitchhiking.
Then when the plot starts, we're treated to a greatest hits of John Hughes themes and scenes but with new characters.
How many movies in a row will feature someone flying horizontally onto their back?
Jon wasn't buying the quick buy-in from Grey, the person who "hit" Bill with her car
Looking back, there's a surprising amount of casual violence in these movies and not in a cartoony way like "Home Alone."
Like people just accept getting punched and are almost happy about it.
There are a couple of longer scenes that drag things down a bit. The fashion show montage was pointless
And while there were some good parts to the movie sequence, it definitely ate a lot of screen time
At least you can typically count on Hughes movies having good child actors and this is no exception. Porter handles all the range exceptionally.
It was fun seeing some of the Chicago locations used for set pieces
Better than the suburban feel of most of his stuff
And Nikki especially loved this apartment
Anyway, there were some good moments, but also some terrible ones punctuated by stupid sound effects.
But we get Steve Carell's debut (in a non-speaking role)
Awards Talk: Alisan Porter won the Young Artist for Best Actress in a Starring Role
TRUE CRIME & POP CULTURE
This week we briefly talk about the tragic death of Bill Graham. Music promoter and actor who we talked about in our Bugsy episode as well
Here's what you may have been watching on TV on October 25, 1991
We talk about the Walt Disney World 20th Anniversary special with live performances by Garth Brooks, Amy Grant and Angela Lansbury singing Beauty and The Beast (episode on that movie coming soon!)
For the second episode in a row, we have a connection between the cast and The Voice. Alisan Porter (former Star Search winner) was on the show
Here's her performance for the finale
RANKINGS & RATINGS
Nikki 1-5 star scale - 2 out of 5
Jon 0-4 star scale - 1 1/2 out of 4
Would you watch it again? - Out of the three John Hughes movies we watched for this podcast, this was actually our least favorite. There are so many elements and scenes in this that can be found in others. It was great to see an older downtown Chicago (compared to the suburbs), but that wasn't enough to make us want to go back for another viewing.
If you want to watch Curly Sue, as of this recording in November 2022, it’s available on Digital Rental, VHS, DVD. Check your local listings.
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