John Hughes Films: Ranked From Worst To Best

8. Curly Sue

The last film written and directed by John Hughes was also, sadly, his worst. The John Hughes formula had worked wonders in the past but, by this point, the formula didn't seem to gel at all. It is a schmaltzy, queasily sentimental film and while there is no doubt that its heart is in the right place, the writing and execution are well below Hughes' normal standards.

Besides the overwhelming sentimentality, the film has other problems. James Belushi is a thoroughly unconvincing and unlikeable male lead, for one. The film isn't funny, for another. Also, the film is a pretty blatant example of class envy: there are only two types of people, the rich (Kelly Lynch's bad lawyer turned good) and the poor (Belushi's con man with a hear of gold). Please.

It works on a very base level as a kids film, but its manipulative nature cannot be denied and the IN YOUR FACE PUNCH YOU ON THE NOSE style of comedy gets really tired, really fast.