Following the death of his father, a suburbanite runs away from home and winds up on Chicago's South Side. After being mugged, the boy befriends a young hustler and, after stealing a gangster's car, the two embark on an adventure down south in search of the hustler's estranged father.
Acting
Darius McCrary's Scam steals every scene with chaotic hustle energy.
Direction
Robert Mandel balances genuine peril with kids-being-kids absurdity.
Practical Effects
Pre-CGI car chases through actual Chicago streets hit different.
Director
Robert Mandel
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Darius McCrary was already playing Eddie Winslow on Family Matters when this came out—imagine the network if they knew he was cursing this hard in his 'summer off.'
This bombed in 1987 because it couldn't decide if it was a kids' movie or a gritty urban drama; it's basically the tonal precursor to The Florida Project thirty years early.
US
