Curly Sue (1991)

Curly Sue is one of those John Hughes films that sneaks up on you: it looks like a light con-artist comedy, then quietly reveals itself as a tender little fable about chosen family and the kind of kindness that arrives when you least expect it. Jim Belushi brings a surprisingly soft, protective charm to Bill, and Alisan Porter’s Curly Sue is all spark and streetwise sweetness, the sort of kid character who actually feels alive rather than “cute.” The movie’s Chicago vibe is cozy and slightly melancholy, balancing scrappy humor with real, gentle emotion as Kelly Lynch’s polished lawyer finds her life pleasantly, inconveniently rearranged. It is undeniably sentimental and old-fashioned, so if you’re allergic to heart-on-its-sleeve stories you may resist it—but if you’re in the mood for warmth, it’s an easy film to like and a hard one to forget.

Curly Sue is clearly trying to be a warm, John Hughes-style fairy tale about found family and softening a hard-edged adult through a kid’s charm, and on that level it’s harmless comfort viewing. The problem is it leans heavily on cute-and-sappy manipulation and a very familiar “scam turns into romance” formula, so if you’re allergic to sentimental setups that ask you to ignore logic, you’ll feel the gears turning. The central adult chemistry is spotty, and the “villain boyfriend” subplot can feel like a blunt instrument designed to force emotions rather than earn them. Still, Alisan Porter has genuine spark and the movie is mild and watchable if you want a simple, old-school crowd-pleaser and don’t mind being nudged toward the tears.