80’s Praise: All Hail Hughes

As I’ve previously stated, this blog encompasses all things pop culture. Continuing with the 80’s theme and with the recent passing of director, producer, writer, and pop culture icon John Hughes, I thought I would take a moment to pay homage to his work. Although he helmed a few films before 1984, it was this year in which one of his most beloved films was released: Sixteen Candles. Surely, anyone reading this has seen this movie and understands the appeal.

Hughes took an ostensibly simple concept: family forgets daughter’s 16^th birthday, and turned it into a hilarious tale which has one of my favorite Hollywood endings. Hilarity especially ensues when the Baker family takes in a foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong (“What’s happening hot stuff?”). Additionally, who could ever forget Jake Ryan (played by Mike Schoeffling—why he walked away from acting I will never understand!) leaning on his red car waiting for Samantha (golden 80’s girl Molly Ringwald) as “If You Were Here” by the Thompson Twins plays in the background. This ending has a way of leaving girls with the indelible impression that the most attractive boy in school just may leave his gorgeous yet disdainful blonde girlfriend for the average every-day nice girl. Do not tell me you haven’t had that dream—we all want it to happen. Unless of course, you’re that gorgeous spiteful blonde…in which case Mean Girls probably has a more suitable ending for you (Regina still gets a piece of the homecoming crown, hello).

All of the humiliation (the comedic highlights of the film) Samantha endures, like a geek selling her undergarments or her grandmother commenting on her developing anatomy, pays off big time at the end. If you are in need of your Molly Ringwald fix she can now be seen playing the mother of a pregnant teenager on ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager, brought to us by Brenda Hampton, the creator of 7^th Heaven (kind of paradoxical…)

Hughes went on to write more perennial films like the Breakfast Club (1985), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), Weird Science (1985), Pretty in Pink (1986), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Uncle Buck (1989), Home Alone (1990), Curly Sue (1991), Beethoven (1992), Flubber (1997) among several others. I assure you that any one of these movies will leave you with a blithe feeling that a Hollywood ending in your life may just be as feasible as Hughes makes it seem.

If you have not seen Pretty in Pink, it is worth viewing just for the pivotal scene where “If You Leave” by Brit group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is played. There is something about this song that just ties a scene together—flash forward to season 1 of the O.C. (Episode 21 “The Goodbye Girl”) where this song (covered by Nada Surf) is played during another cardinal moment when Anna leaves Newport for good as a heartbroken Seth gazes from a distance.

Fun fact: Anthony Michael Hall (the Geek from Breakfast Club/Sixteen Candles) was originally chosen to play Duckie in Sixteen Candles but turned it down in fear of being typecast. Jon Cryer of “Two and a Half Men” fame was subsequently casted. Andrew McCarthy who also stars in Pretty in Pink recently guest appeared in the aforementioned Gossip Girl episode which revisited, none other than, the 80's.

A brooding Jake Ryan

Cue "Don't You (Forget About Me)"

Pretty in Pink