Just You and Me, Kid (1979)

Director:

Leonard Stern

Writers:

Oliver Hailey (writer)
Tom Lazarus (writer)

Release Date:

13 July 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The story of two juvenile delinquents.

Plot:

George Burns stars as a former vaudevillian who befriends a young runaway, played by 14-year old Brooke Shields, who is being chased by drug dealers.

Plot Keywords:

Drug Dealer | Jolson | Card Playing | Grandfather Granddaughter Relationship | Antique Car

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

George Burns	...	Bill
Brooke Shields	...	Kate
Burl Ives	...	Max
Ray Bolger	...	Tom
Lorraine Gary	...	Shirl
Christopher Knight	...	Roy
Carl Ballantine	...	Reinhoff the Remarkable
Keye Luke	...	Doctor Device
Robert Doran	...	Box Boy
William Russ	...	Demesta
John Schuck	...	Stan
Leon Ames	...	Manduke the Magnificent
Andrea Howard	...	Sue
Nicolas Coster	...	Harris

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Goofs:

Bill went to Tower Records and bought Saturday Night Fever on vinyl for Kate. Well, the song that plays on the turntable is on neither of the two records on the original soundtrack.

Quotes:

Doctor Device: [after hiding Kate on the ceiling with a levitation trick] Now, we'll let you down, if you promise never to tell how we do this.
Kate: OK. But, how do you do it?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Oscar's Greatest Moments (1992) (V)

Friendly sitcom

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 mainstream, big-studio movies of this era never to be released in any format to the home-viewing market. *** from ****