Just You and Me, Kid

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.

"Just You and Me, Kid" was never issued on VHS or (as of this date) DVD despite starring Brooke Shields and George Burns. Watching the movie, it's pretty clear why no one at Columbia Pictures thinks this movie has a potential audience. The main reason for this movie's failure is its sorry script. Although it aims to be a warm-hearted comedy, it succeeds at neither of those things. It's hard to get involved with Shields' character, who is written to be not very likable, and made worse by Shields' inadequate performance, which generates zero chemistry with Burns despite his valiant effort. There are no laughs to be found, partially due to the fact that the movie for a great deal of time tries to be serious, but also due that the few attempts at humor are lame and without energy. The rest of the movie is also directed in a lacklustre fashion; as other user comments here have noted, apart from some fleeting nudity and some mild language the movie feels like it was made for television. To sum up, this movie was a waste of time for its stars as well as its audience.

This hidden gem makes a lot of modern "comedies" look like the wastes of time they are. This is social commentary farce at its best. A "street smart" teen girl who is in trouble with a criminal "boyfriend" getting her fanny pulled out of the fryer by a more than able but branded "senile" (even by his own daughter) older man. This film is a perfect look at where we are now and how younger generations need to sometimes stop and be silent before they cause more trouble. At 42, I can say that because I can see precisely where Kate went wrong and where Bill did everything right. LOL

Now in all seriousness, this is a brilliant work, with an icon of the previous generation working with someone who would later become an icon of the next, in a light and breezy but very likable and coherent plot of a comedy. Two people with absurd individuals around them finding common ground, but his was supposed to be a bomb?? This film was made for an audience that had not matured yet, and now it is being seen by many as the classic it is.

On the run from an abusive drug dealer, foster kid Brooke Shields hides out with ex-vaudeville entertainer George Burns. There are little side-plots here and there (the drug dealer tracking Brooke down, George's daughter trying to get her hands on his money, best friend Burl Ives stuck in an institution), but the bulk of the movie centers on the relationship between the sassy teen and the octogenarian. The script is structured pretty much like a play, with the banter going back and forth between the two principles, yet some wonderful bits surface, as when Burns attempts to distract his nosy neighbors from the teenage girl he has in the house, or a terrific sequence where George's poker buddies--Ray Bolger and Keye Luke among them--show up for their usual game and Brooke is displeased ("Too many people come to this house!" she scowls). George is sweet and tender here; say what you will about his shuffle-along acting style, I felt he was really in character and genuinely cared for Shields, who is stiff and self-conscious at first but warms up midway. Some of the dialogue is surprisingly crass (Burns playing tailor and Brooke calling him a 'fag'), but for cynical 1979 it is sunnier and friendlier than most. One of the few major studio movies of this era not to be released to the home-video market in the 1980s and '90s. **1/2 from ****