Porter Laments Permanent Role

Alisan Porter wants her straight hair back.

The pint-sized Porter permed her long brown tresses to play the title role in John “Home Alone” Hughes’ new comedy “Curly Sue,” in which 10-year-old Porter plays a charming little con artist who melts the heart of an uptight yuppie attorney (Kelly Lynch).

“John Hughes said if you do good (in the audition) and you get the part, we will give you a perm,” she recalls. “I got the part and I still have curly hair. Perms kind of ruin your hair.”

In “Curly Sue,” Porter gets to sing--she is a “Star Search” talent winner--play cards, punch out an adult, cry, dress like a slob and eat a lot of pizza. Even Macaulay Culkin would be jealous.

“The hardest scene was probably the pizza scene--definitely,” Porter says, scrunching up her face. “It took two days to shoot. I ate tons of pizza. I got very sick. But I still love pizza.”

Porter, whose bedroom walls are adorned with photos of “Beverly Hills, 90210” hunks Jason Priestley and Luke Perry, began doing commercials when she was 3 after she saw a little girl in a pickle commercial on TV. “I told my mother, ‘I can do that too.’ ”

Within two months she landed a commercial for United Airlines.

Porter even manages to squeeze in four hours a week of ballet and jazz into her hectic schedule. “I would like to be in a Broadway show so I can sing, act and dance,” Porter says.

And she knows exactly what she wants to do with her life. “I’m going to UCLA and major in film,” Porter insists. “I want to direct.”