Pretty In Pink

Pretty In Pink (1986)
Directed by: Howard Deutch
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

In my twenty-six years on this Earth I have seen a large number of films. If I tried to name them all I would bore you and myself; plus I would forget somewhere around 90% I'm sure. John Hughes is/was a filmmaker that holds a special place in my heart. He was the voice of a generation and also provided a template for a generation to live up to (which we didn't). I remember staying home from school when I was "sick" and dreamed of doing the things that Ferris did when he took a day off. I actually considered trying to create a woman using a Barbie doll, magazine articles, pictures, and a computer. I never had Saturday school but I wondered if it truly was where people of all walks of life could come together. I knew that if I was ever forgotten at home during the holidays that I would be able to protect myself and my home from incompetent criminals. I love all his films but there are a few that have snuck by me: Curly Sue, She's Having A Baby, and several of his non-directed films. Pretty In Pink is one of the ones that has snuck by me until recently. I always lumped Pretty In Pink together with Sixteen Candles but, as it turns out, they are very different films.

Pretty In Pink is about a social outcast, Andie (Molly Ringwald), that has eyes for a Richie, which is what she calls the wealthy kids. Blane (Andrew McCarthy) is the popular and well-off object of Andie's affection. He just so happens to like her but catches Hell form his friends, especially Steff (James Spader). Andie's best friend, Duckie (Jon Cryer), loves Andie but it is unrequited. During the film, the bond between Andie and Blane grows but is eventually tested when Steff begins to mock Blane for slumming with Andie. The tension becomes too great and Blane decides to brush Andie aside. Not one to let herself get down, Andie creates a pink dress and attends the prom with Duckie. She successfully shows the stuck up kids at school that she is confident with who she is and that she doesn't care what anybody thinks. Blane, realizing his foolishness, apologizes to Andie and the two get back together. The soundtrack is as great as the story and the acting. It gave us this incredibly catchy song...


First off, John Hughes didn't direct Pretty In Pink. That was the biggest shocker to me. I knew that he had written/produced a lot of films but I figured that this was one of the ones that he actually directed. I'm not sure that changes a lot about the film but I thought it was interesting. Now, let's get into the discussion. My favorite character is, obviously, Duckie. Cryer brought incredible depth to a character that could of just been comedic relief.


That is EASILY my favorite part of the entire film. It touches on the emotions that Duckie harbors for Andie but doesn't know how to express. He lip syncs Try A Little Tenderness because that's what he longs for with Andie. He is the lovable dork at school that everyone knows of but nobody actually knows. Cryer's scenes break up the drama of social status warfare within the film.


AGH! He's SO great! Cryer then delivers this heart wrenching speech to Andie about her recent decision to date Blane.


The pain that Duckie feels is palpable. "I live to like you". Any girl would love to hear that but Andie decides to let it go and go out with a person whose name is synonymous with douchebag frat bros that occasionally play tennis with their girlfriend Bambi. What is even more interesting about the character, other than he was a hipster before hipsters were hipsters (look at those clothes and tell me I'm wrong), is that Molly Ringwald recently stated that Duckie was a closeted homosexual. I definitely thought that about his character as well. Andie was to serve as his tester relationship; the one that a gay man has to see if he likes women or not. Ringwald also said that she believes that Hughes wrote a lot of gay characters. Brian from the Breakfast Club? Perhaps one of the two leads from Weird Science? Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (which would be the second most interesting thing going on in the subtext). Whatever the case may be, Cryer made the film for me. On the other end of the spectrum is Steff. He serves as a perfect foil to Duckie. He is the main antagonist but he does everything in a kind of subtle and devilish way.


He's just so good at being a supreme bag of sh*t.

No BS

Pretty In Pink is an iconic 80's flick that everyone should see. You'll be forever enriched because you have seen one more of John Hughes' classics. It's not as good as Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, or Weird Science (in my opinion) but it definitely is worth a watch. Don't get hung up on the tropes that exist within the film because remember, John Hughes created a lot of the shortcuts and stereotypes we know so well.

My Score: 7/10