R.I.P John Hughes

I was really sad to hear about the untimely death of John Hughes last night. Hughes was one of the most important directors of his decade but he also lent his hand in producing and script-writing. His films such as The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and Some Kind of Wonderful helped define pop culture in the 80s. They were the first films to cover teenage angst in a way that no one had done before and captured the way the youth talked and issues they had to deal with. In a nutshell John Hughes made movies that spoke to teenagers. Unlike directors today, Hughes made a lot of films in a short amount of time but still managed to maintain pure quality. My favorite John Hughes film is The Breakfast Club for it's compelling dialogue and characters which is closely followed by Some Kind of Wonderful.

John Hughes excellent body of work includes.

Sixteen Candles -1984
Weird Science - 1985
Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 1986
Pretty in Pink - 1986
The Breakfast Club - 1986
Some Kind of Wonderful - 1987
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - 1987
She’s Having a Baby –1988
Uncle Buck - 1989
Home Alone - 1990
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - 1992
Home Alone 3 - 1997
Maid in Manhattan - 2002

Look out for a retro review of Sixteen Candles next month. Check out the tribute video above and tell me which is your favourite John Hughes film?

Retro Review: Pretty in Pink

Andie Walsh played by Molly Ringwald is the kid from the wrong side of the block who along with her friends has been given a pass to a privileged education at a top notch school. However everything is not so cheery as Andie and her mates are treated like second hand citizen by the in crowd. She draws on the support from her inner circle to get through the torment which include Duckie Dale played by Jon Cryer and Iona played by Annie Potts. Andie and Duckie are best friends who go way back although Duckie harbours stronger feelings for Andie. Meanwhile Andie has her eye on rich and popular guy, Blaine McDonough played by Andrew McCarthy and is astounded when he asks her out on a date. This does not prove to be popular with either of their friends and huge peer pressure poses a huge threat to their budding romance. Duckie is heartbroken as he long time plans of marrying Andie are cut short and Steff played by James Spader who is Blaine's best friend makes scathing comments about Andie.

This film was a huge success when it was released in 1986 and caught the imagination of teenagers all over the US. This was directed by Howard Deutch (who went on to direct Some Kind of Wonderful and Melrose Place) but the script was written by John Hughes. It is easy to see why it was so popular as it was one of the few of its kind; a film that explored the issues that were prevalent in teen life. Finding out who you are, dealing with peer pressure, trying to fit into social cliques, dating and working out what you want to do with your life. All these experiences are dealt with superbly in John Hughes films aka Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Some Kind of Wonderful which I blogged about here. I felt that Pretty in Pink was a pretty good movie and Molly Ringwald really creates a lot of empathy as Andie but it is her side kicks who steal the show. Jon Cryer who puts in a cracking performance as the very charismatic Duckie and Annie Potts is hilarious as Andie's quirky work buddy, Iona. What stands out about this film is the emphasis on youth culture hence Andie being a New Wave girl working in an indie record store. Andie's fashion sense is a the selling point of the film, her vintage and hand made wardrobe consisted of floral leggings, lace tops, boy blazers, waistcoats, trilby hats, cute cardigans, with layers of junk jewelery and lots of pink. Face it, Andie Walsh was the 80s Carrie Bradshaw.

Retro Review: Some Kind of Wonderful

With his love of art, a part time job in a gas station and a tomgirl for a best friend, Keith Nelson played by Eric Stoltz is the school social outcast. In a teen culture where looks and money are considered high importance, Keith's working class roots do not cut it at his clique high school. So he spends his time with his best mate Watts played by Mary Stuart Masterson, a sassy lass whose activities include playing drums and spouting feminist rhetoric. However, Keith and Watts are broken out of their solitary existence when he falls for Amanda Jones played by Lea Thompson. Amanda is a gorgeous IT girl who rolls with the popular crowd and is also dating one of the richest guys at school. When Amanda breaks up with her boyfriend Keith takes this chance to ask her out on a date. Unknown to Keith, Watts is secretly in love with him but nevertheless helps him with his plan to woo Amanda.

Some Kind of Wonderful is produced by the legendary John Hughes who brought us The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty In Pink and Sixteen Candles so I had very high expectations before watching it. I can safely say I was not disappointed and Some Kind of Wonderful was a great film to watch. The storyline is not the most original but the script and dialogue makes up for it. Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson and Lea Thompson put in fantastic performances and really gel in this movie. I admit that Mary Stuart Masterson's character, Watts does steal the limelight with all her wise cracks and sarcastic comments but Lea Thompson brings a lot of warmth to a character that you are just yearning to hate. Amanda may be popular and beautiful but her embarrassment of her working class roots demonstrates that things that look perfect on the outside are not always so. Eric Stoltz is great as the guy who does not fit in, this is a little unconvincing in the looks department but he plays the part very well.

This film is a gender revised version of Pretty in Pink which was made a year earlier but with the ending that John Hughes - along with many others - wanted. You see the suits at the films studio pressurised John Hughes into changing the ending of Pretty in Pink so Molly Ringwald's character would end up with McCarthy when he really wanted Ringwald to end up with Cryer's character. So apparently John Hughes wrote this film in response with the ending he really wanted. He did a really good job as I much prefer this version which is uplifting and really celebrates teenage years while Pretty in Pink was somewhat depressing. This film was well received by the critics but did not do that great at the box offices.

Images taken by moviegoods.com

The Brat Pack

I am a kid of the 80s and I totally love the era; the cool music, the wonderful films and ever so glam TV. Ok the fashion was a bit iffy, what with the over sized t-shirts, the leggings and shoulder pads but man those were some great times. One of major things that came out of that decade were coming of age movies such as The Breakfast Club, St Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The themes tended to be middle class teen or early twenties angst set against a backdrop of a large city. The stars in these films were Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson and Demi Moore who were dubbed The Brat Pack in reference in the 1950s Rat Pack. Last week I had an 80s movie marathon and watched Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and St Elmo's Fire. Pretty in Pink stars Molly Ringwald, a beautiful boho who is from the wrong side of the tracks who falls for one of the rich guys at her school. The Breakfast Club is a story of five teenagers who represent a different clique from their school who are forced to spend Saturday in detention together. After telling stories, insulting each other, dancing and opening up, the group discover that they have a lot more in common then they originally thought. St Elmo's Fire is a slightly more sophisticated film, that features a group of friends who have just graduated from University.

While watching these films it became apparent to me how influential these movies were on the industry. The Breakfast Club is ranked number one on Entertainment Weekly's list as the 50 Best High School Movies and has had a huge impact on the teen film genre and popular culture. The theme song, 'Don't You Forget About Me' by Simple Minds was a massive hit and reached number one in the US. With no Pretty in Pink, there would be no Clueless, Legally Blonde and Mean Girls. Also the close knit friendships of the characters in St Elmo's Fire is akin to those in Friends and Sex in the City. The colourful characters and wonderful dialogue in all films appears as funny and fresh as ever and you have to pinch yourself to make sure that you are watching a film from 20 years ago.