Up next for John Hughes week in #Johnuary is Pretty in Pink. This falls into the category of Hughes films I haven’t seen before. This one was written by Hughes and he co-produced it but he didn’t direct it.
Here are my real time thoughts whilst watching it.
- I love seeing Harry Dean Stanton’s name in the opening credits of any film. He just makes any movie better
- The opening chat with Harry Dean Stanton is very well edited and synchs with the music, or the music has been cut well to crescendo right at the end of the conversation. Small details like that just really help to set the tone
- I only really know Jon Cryer from Two and a Half Men, so it’s great to see him in a younger performance such as this
- Great to hear the opening bars of Nik Kershaw’s “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” but it’s actually not his version. It’s a cover by Danny Hutton Hitters. Thanks to @ItsDelbert for correcting me on this point. He also sent me an interesting link showing that even Nik Kershaw doesn’t know why his version of the song wasn’t used http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/interview-10-questions-nik-kershaw
- I thought for a second that it was Cyndi Lauper playing the record store worker but then quickly realised it was Annie Potts, Janine from Ghostbusters!
- I didn’t quite get a handle on Molly Ringwood’s character at the start. She seems to be being played as an uncool misfit who dresses weirdly, and yet three guys are interested in her right from the start. And if she’s so uncool how is she hanging out with a punk in a record store? I then realised that she works there. But still, I found Andie to be a very interesting character right from the start
- I like when Blane asks her if she wants to talk by hacking into her library computer. Nicely done. Perfect use of 80s technology
- Duckie really is a bit of an annoying stalker isn’t he? I felt that way at the start at least
- I recognised Gina Gershon from Showgirls and Face/Off in a small role
- Jon Cryer is a bit annoying in places but in some bits he’s great, like when he gets pushed into the ladies toilet. I’m sure a lot of that is improvised. And the Try a Little Tenderness scene, even if some people don’t like it, I think is very impressive. I wonder if he’s ever been on Lip Sync Battle
- I think the Blane character is actually played very well by Andrew McCarthy. Kind of nervous and arrogant but with a lot of charm too. Comes off as very real
- I like the whole premise of the divide between the rich kids and the non-rich kids. Almost kind of a Romeo and Juliet thing going on in a way
- I love the father / daughter chats again in this film, similar to Sixteen Candles
- Loving Duckie’s BMX and his freestyle skills
- James Spader is pretty damn great. I need to watch more of his films
- My family used to have exactly the same red stereo that Andi has in her room
- I’m not quite sure how I know Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay, but he’s great
- There has never been a more powerful montage of a girl making a pink dress. Awesome stuff
- Jon Cryer really reminds me of Matthew Broderick near the end. I could really imagine Broderick playing this role. Not sure I could imagine Cryer playing Ferris Bueller though. Maybe. Maybe
- Duckie comes good in the end! He loved her so much he had to let her go
- Another breaking of the fourth wall. John Hughes really does love to do that, which surprises me
- Maybe I need to watch it again but is it ever explained exactly why Andrew McCarthy dumps her? And then why she takes him back so quickly?
- Supposedly the original version of the film had Andie and Duckie getting together but the audiences who were shown a test version didn’t like it and they reshot it with the Andie / Blane ending.
This is the kind of film that on paper doesn’t sound anything special, just because there’s not a huge plot. But again like several of Hughes’ movies it’s just got great dialogue, great characters and great acting. Another example of very good filmmaking.
Images from IMDB and http://www.moviestillsdb.com/