Well, I've finally seen Curly Sue, the notorious flop widely considered The Worst John Hughes movie. I was curious, but kind of dreading it. I'm not really a fan of Cute Moppet movies and find most child actors irritating.
The good news is, I found Alisan Porter to be a much more natural child actress than, for instance, Shirley Temple or the girl who played Annie. Alisan was cute without being obnoxiously cutesy. Most of the time she comes across as a Real Kid instead of one who's been coached too much and never had a normal childhood (which often results in creepy and/or annoying mannerisms - most child actors just can't "act natural".) Except for her singing, which has that somewhat cheesy Broadway style and sounds overly trained. (The way her singing was shoe-horned into the script, was pretty contrived.) Still, it's a pity her career didn't take off after this performance... although she might be better off *not* having become a big star, when you consider the messed-up lives most child stars lead.
As for the movie as a whole... I can understand why it flopped. Sentimental family films are not very popular anymore. I know it's been said by others, but Curly Sue really is an old-fashioned movie that feels like it should be set during the Great Depression (like Annie and all those Shirley Temple movies were). The fact that it's set in modern times makes it harder for today's audience to accept. Many movies from the 1930s were a mixture of the gritty side of life with down-on-their-luck characters (Homeless drifters! Plucky orphans!) in poverty-type situations, and fairytale wish-fulfillment. Audiences needed that at the time when so many were down-on-their-luck themselves. (Having a rich and poor person fall in love despite class differences, was another common element in films of the Depression, however unlikely this may seem now.) When Curly Sue was released, this sort of escapist fantasy didn't seem relevant to most viewers, I guess.
I enjoy many movies from the 1930s/40s and I love Frank Capra... as did John Hughes, I hear. Capra's idealism is not considered "cool" today either, unfortunately. I don't mean to say that Curly Sue is in the same league as Capra's classics. Jim Belushi is no Jimmy Stewart. (Or Bill Murray, although he may be trying to do an impression of him since I kept picturing Bill in the role - interesting to read on IMDb that Murray was offered the part first!) Belushi's character doesn't ultimately accomplish great things, or even attempt to fight the system like most Frank Capra heroes. His lifestyle as a con artist could be seen as rebellion against society, but the writing lacks depth. We don't understand why he'd choose to avoid gainful employment, and even resort to injuring himself in order to con a free meal out of someone. Not when he displays skills, such as piano-playing. It's not very plausible, especially since the movie does *not* take place during the Great Depression when unemployment was not a choice, but an inescapable fact.
In it's depiction of women, this movie also reminds me of many post-WWII movies Hollywood made in an attempt to send women back to the home so they wouldn't "take jobs away from" the men who had returned after the war. Kelly Lynch's character is a hard-hearted career-woman who instantly melts upon meeting this child, and ends up giving up her job in favour of motherhood and marriage. She is not so much depicted as conflicted over the moral problems inherent in being a lawyer, specifically, as she is portrayed as unfulfilled and "unnatural" until she becomes more "womanly". There is even a subplot where this lawyer counsels a client who is half-heartedly seeking a divorce, and switches gears from advising her to bleed her cheating husband dry, to supporting the woman's inexplicable desire to stay with the man who doesn't love her and in fact, wants to get rid of her. This reminded me of movies from the 1940s, such as The Women, with their less-than-empowered messages. At least the Hays Code can excuse those films, but in this day and age...not so much.
I can't argue with people who dislike Curly Sue for being unrealistic, or sentimental/sappy/corny. Personally I prefer uplifting movies with happy endings and I think more films should be made that the whole family can watch together. However, I don't love Curly Sue - maybe because I've seen it's familiar elements done in many other movies, and done better. Much of the criticism I've seen, I agree with. The pacing *is* slow. The plot *is* predictable. The slapstick is too silly and feels out of place. But it's not as bad as I'd expected, based on it's reputation. The acting is decent. Nice music. You get to see Viveka Davis, the charming actress from Student Exchange! (Wish her part was larger.) There are far worse films...many of which have a higher rating on IMDb. Still, I can't rate it higher than a 4, knocking off some points for the flaws mentioned above, and because it's merely average compared to others of it's type... including other John Hughes films, which I've found more heartwarming and humorous than Curly Sue. (But it's not The Worst John Hughes Movie either - it's better than Weird Science!) Don't let my rating discourage you, if you're also curious, as a John Hughes fan, or looking for feel-good family films.
The good news is, I found Alisan Porter to be a much more natural child actress than, for instance, Shirley Temple or the girl who played Annie. Alisan was cute without being obnoxiously cutesy. Most of the time she comes across as a Real Kid instead of one who's been coached too much and never had a normal childhood (which often results in creepy and/or annoying mannerisms - most child actors just can't "act natural".) Except for her singing, which has that somewhat cheesy Broadway style and sounds overly trained. (The way her singing was shoe-horned into the script, was pretty contrived.) Still, it's a pity her career didn't take off after this performance... although she might be better off *not* having become a big star, when you consider the messed-up lives most child stars lead.
As for the movie as a whole... I can understand why it flopped. Sentimental family films are not very popular anymore. I know it's been said by others, but Curly Sue really is an old-fashioned movie that feels like it should be set during the Great Depression (like Annie and all those Shirley Temple movies were). The fact that it's set in modern times makes it harder for today's audience to accept. Many movies from the 1930s were a mixture of the gritty side of life with down-on-their-luck characters (Homeless drifters! Plucky orphans!) in poverty-type situations, and fairytale wish-fulfillment. Audiences needed that at the time when so many were down-on-their-luck themselves. (Having a rich and poor person fall in love despite class differences, was another common element in films of the Depression, however unlikely this may seem now.) When Curly Sue was released, this sort of escapist fantasy didn't seem relevant to most viewers, I guess.
I enjoy many movies from the 1930s/40s and I love Frank Capra... as did John Hughes, I hear. Capra's idealism is not considered "cool" today either, unfortunately. I don't mean to say that Curly Sue is in the same league as Capra's classics. Jim Belushi is no Jimmy Stewart. (Or Bill Murray, although he may be trying to do an impression of him since I kept picturing Bill in the role - interesting to read on IMDb that Murray was offered the part first!) Belushi's character doesn't ultimately accomplish great things, or even attempt to fight the system like most Frank Capra heroes. His lifestyle as a con artist could be seen as rebellion against society, but the writing lacks depth. We don't understand why he'd choose to avoid gainful employment, and even resort to injuring himself in order to con a free meal out of someone. Not when he displays skills, such as piano-playing. It's not very plausible, especially since the movie does *not* take place during the Great Depression when unemployment was not a choice, but an inescapable fact.
In it's depiction of women, this movie also reminds me of many post-WWII movies Hollywood made in an attempt to send women back to the home so they wouldn't "take jobs away from" the men who had returned after the war. Kelly Lynch's character is a hard-hearted career-woman who instantly melts upon meeting this child, and ends up giving up her job in favour of motherhood and marriage. She is not so much depicted as conflicted over the moral problems inherent in being a lawyer, specifically, as she is portrayed as unfulfilled and "unnatural" until she becomes more "womanly". There is even a subplot where this lawyer counsels a client who is half-heartedly seeking a divorce, and switches gears from advising her to bleed her cheating husband dry, to supporting the woman's inexplicable desire to stay with the man who doesn't love her and in fact, wants to get rid of her. This reminded me of movies from the 1940s, such as The Women, with their less-than-empowered messages. At least the Hays Code can excuse those films, but in this day and age...not so much.
I can't argue with people who dislike Curly Sue for being unrealistic, or sentimental/sappy/corny. Personally I prefer uplifting movies with happy endings and I think more films should be made that the whole family can watch together. However, I don't love Curly Sue - maybe because I've seen it's familiar elements done in many other movies, and done better. Much of the criticism I've seen, I agree with. The pacing *is* slow. The plot *is* predictable. The slapstick is too silly and feels out of place. But it's not as bad as I'd expected, based on it's reputation. The acting is decent. Nice music. You get to see Viveka Davis, the charming actress from Student Exchange! (Wish her part was larger.) There are far worse films...many of which have a higher rating on IMDb. Still, I can't rate it higher than a 4, knocking off some points for the flaws mentioned above, and because it's merely average compared to others of it's type... including other John Hughes films, which I've found more heartwarming and humorous than Curly Sue. (But it's not The Worst John Hughes Movie either - it's better than Weird Science!) Don't let my rating discourage you, if you're also curious, as a John Hughes fan, or looking for feel-good family films.