Alvie and Boots, a pair of crooks on the run, end up with six-year-old Savannah Driscoll hiding in their car. Savannah is an over-imaginative girl who feels neglected by her parents and wanting to leave home. A reward is posted for her, which, being fugitives, Alvie and Boots can't legally claim. This causes them to refuse to return Savannah while still trying to negotiate for the reward/ransom, even as both men begin to genuinely care for the girl. Although a fairly comedic family film, the story does have dramatic and/or tragic elements with the sad situation of Alvie and Boots and Savannah's unhappy homelife.
Tropes:
- Adorably Precocious Child: The young Savannah is quick to believe the best of people and quickly has Boots playing Cinderella with her.
- All Part of the Show: Savannah is convinced to see a lot of the manhunt as just a big game.
- Ambiguously Gay: Alvie and Boots, given Boots' determination to break Alvie out of jail, how they stick with each other even through circumstances which would really make it preferable for one to leave, and for the fact that neither ever seems to show any attraction towards a woman. The word choice when Boots asks Alvie how he'd feel in the Driscolls shoes if "it was our kid" missing is also somewhat interesting.
- Ambition Is Evil: Mr. Driscoll wants to run for the state Senate and neglects his daughter even more than usual to do so (while making his wife do the same), eventually graduating to outright destroying evidence that shows his daughter did run away instead of being taken.
- Bittersweet Ending: Alvie and Boots are arrested and will probably spend a long time in prison for something that (in Boots case) he wanted no part of from the beginning. However, both are better men for their experiences, and Savannah still feels close towards the two, while her mother finally seems to have decided to leave the neglectful and selfish Mr. Driscoll, which is implied to be better for Savannah.
- Dramatic Irony: At the beginning of the movie, Boots is the one who gets Alvie into trouble and makes him into a bigger offender with the jailbreak, while later on Alvie is the one getting them into worse trouble by wanting to keep Savnnah prisoner. In contrast, Boots wants to just send her home.
- Fat and Skinny: Boots is pretty chubby, while Alvie is of average-to-thin girth.
- Freudian Excuse: Alvie had a sad, fairly unloved childhood, which eventually serves as a bonding point between him and Savannah.
- Genre Savvy: Boots realizes how a kidnapping situation will have bad consequences for them and must be hard on her family, and she keeps trying to convince Alvie to send Savannah home.
- Good Shepherd: Father O'Hara, who makes sure to be there for the Driscolls, and in the last act of the movie, Savannah, while also working to help Alvie surrender peacefully without being hurt at the end.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Savannah, her cousin (who she plays with shortly before running away), and even her mother (who does want to be there for her more and seems to have decided to be a better parent in the end) are all fundamentally good blonde-haired people.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Alvie can get angry easily, as shown with some of his attitude towards Boots, people he tries to bribe in the first act of the movie, and the authorities throughout the manhunt.
- Hero Antagonist: Harland Dobbs is rigorous in his pursuit of the kidnappers, and while he doesn't necessarily believe the worst of them, he is willing to consider it, and prefers to err on the side of caution in those assumptions and is quick to point out that whether they intentionally took Savammaj or not, they're legally guilty of kidnapping for refusing to give her back without being paid. He is trying to recover a kidnapped child, though, seems to view Savannah's predicament as more than just a job, and does show some softer sentiments towards Alvie and Boots by the end of the movie.
- Irish Priest: Subverted with Father O'Hara, who is a Catholic priest with an Irish surname, but whose actor is actually Japanese.
- Lima Syndrome: Boots and Alvie develop a strong case of this, and go out of their way to provide fun experiences with Savannah. The fact that they weren't intentionally trying to kidnap her in the first place helps.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Savannah, whose parents (especially her father) give her plenty of stuff, but never make time for her.
- Precious Puppy: While Alvin is buying ice cream for Savannah in one scene, the vendor offers Alvie a free puppy, which he gives to a delighted Savannah, who is with the puppy for most of the rest of the movie.
- Private Investigator: Harland Dobbs is a freelance investigator who is hired by the Driscoll's to help get Savannah back, although he's more of a team player with the police than most versions of this trope.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The police officers involved in the investigation treat it with proper seriousness and sympathy for Savannah while at the same time being willing to accept/consider that Alvie and Boots didn't mean to kidnap Savannah.
- Roadkill for Dinner: At one point, one of the Stupid Crooks scrapes up supper off the side of the road. The other crook understandably refuses to eat it.
- Stupid Crooks: Alvie and Boots' failed attempted robberies prior to ending up with Savannah (and some of their antics afterward) emphasize their ineptitude at crime.
- Unwanted Assistance: The film begins with Boots rescuing his old friend Alvie from a prison work gang only for Alvie to angrily tell him he was about to come up for parole, as he is forced to go with Boots when the guards start shooting.
