Just You and Me, Kid

I've never understood why this movie has not made it to VHS or DVD. Would it be contractual problems, maybe? Carl Ballentine, Key Luke, Burl Ives..never mind the obvious; that all of George Burns needs to be available. Nothing deep, just light and entertaining. Brooke Shields was good, and so was everyone else. I'd like to have Bill's alarm clock too. The car and the pylons, the breaking pencils, the grocery store carry-out boy, and George Burns typical, poised response are the little things that add up to make us keep chuckling. Too many movies aim for "zany" or "wacky" or "hilarious" and fall flat. Sometimes chuckling is all we need. Bring on the DVD.

Bill Grant (George Burns) is a retired lovable vaudeville star. He discovers a young naked Kate (Brooke Shields) hiding in his car truck. She's a runaway foster kid hiding from drug dealer John Demesta. His daughter Shirl wants him to sign over his finances before he gives it all away to his old vaudeville down-on-their-luck friends including his catatonic best friend Max. He's got nosy neighbors Stan and Sue. Kate tries to take off and twists her ankle. Shirl calls the cops but his poker buddies pull an old trick.

I love George Burns doing his lovable old performer character. Brooke Shields was a good child star who develops great chemistry with the old-timer. I don't know why she has to be naked or pretend to be naked in almost movie. The biggest problem is the weirdly dangerous clunky drug story in between the funny bits. The tone is all over the place. The movie is definitely trying to be funny but the drug story is so cheesy dark that it screws the movie up.

Foster kid Kate (Brooke Shields) is on the run from an abusive drug dealer. Through circumstances too ridiculous to get into she ends up hiding out with old vaudevillian Bill (George Burns). She doesn't trust him at first but they end up (sigh) becoming good friends. It all ends in a totally predictable happy ending that will have you rolling your eyes.

I caught this in a theater back in 1979. I was only 16 and (back then) liked almost anything. I saw it solely because of Burns (Shields was still fairly unknown--this was pre "Blue Lagoon"). I though it might be light and innocuous. It WAS both of those things but it was also boring, pointless and full of some of the worst jokes and most contrived situations I've ever seen. Aside from a glimpse of Brooke's (or her doubles) nude butt and a few minor profanities this is made for TV material--and I don't mean that in a good way! Burns tries his best to put over his terrible lines but he can't. Shields is young and appealing--but this was before she learned how to act. This did nothing for either of their careers and sank without a trace. As other posters have said this was never on VHS or DVD. There's a reason for that! Bottom of the barrel. A 1.

Less than a half hour in, and I already love this!

Some favorite parts: George Burns singing, the score of the film, the way his kitchen looks, a young and beautiful Brooke Shields, and just the light tone of the whole thing! Gosh, I just love it! Because of this movie, I will now have to check out other George Burns films, because I am now hooked! Though this is not the first movie I've seen him star in, it's the first time I've been present enough to really pick up on what I charming screen presence he has!

Update: Finished it, and what a top notch cast! I wasn't expecting so many memorable people, such as Christopher Knight from The Brady Bunch, Burl ives, and others. This is so worth seeing!

Side note: I have quite a little crush on George Burns, I've just realized. I'm quite smitten with his voice and demeanor.

This movie comes from a time when movies were still movies. No quick cuts, only one popular music track, but a good old fashioned story of a grandfatherly former Vaudevillian befriending a troubled teen.

You've got to love George Burns. You just have to. There's no reason not to. To me his quips, even though I understood the humor when this movie hit the theatre, is more endearing and funnier now with more punch than when I first saw the film.

That, and the humor is clean without being childish. It's smart without having to be high-minded. The script is witty and Burns' performance is on the money for a man of his caliber or character.

And there's Brooke, who, unlike her later roles, actually does a pretty decent job of portraying the wayward teen. Brooke knows this girl's character and is given fairly decent direction as to how to portray her.

If I had one complaint it's that dialogue, at times, seems a little too mature for Booke's character, but that's more of a fault of the old guard Hollywood screenwriters who channel themselves through the characters they pen.

Veteran stars come in to play support roles making for a very likable hour and a half light comedy. The plot driving the story forward is a little hard, but socially responsible films function to show the pitfalls of possible criminal behavior, and how innocents (and not so innocent) get caught up in nefarious doings. As such we have a light tone for what could have been a hard look at teenage delinquency.

George Burns and Brooke Shields actually have a pretty good chemistry here, almost that one wishes they had done a few more films together.

Either way, the film is now out on DVD thanks to SONY and Columbia Pictures archives. Grab a copy and watch it on a lazy weekend afternoon.

Enjoy.