Pretty in Pink

... not even in the 80s, not even in a teen movie in the 80s.

This is a cult favorite starring Molly Ringwald as Andie, a high school senior of limited means. She gets persistently bullied by the rich crowd at school. Her mom ran out on her and her dad, and as a result dad is chronically unemployed and likes to drink, but he's not a mean drunk. Molly also has to deal with Duckie (Jon Cryer), an amiable goofball who is madly in love with her.

Andie is surprised when wealthy Blaine (Andrew McCarthy) casts an eye in her direction. However, their dating is causing tensions among his elite circle. Or should I say elitist circle? They have all the charm of the French aristocracy before they were guillotined. Blaine asks Andie to the prom, but when he comes up against brick wall opposition from all of his friends he wilts and pulls away from Andie, making lame excuses about having already asked somebody else to the prom. She sees right through him. Meanwhile Andie's dad has managed to buy a pink dress at a thrift shop, and she decides to fix it up as a prom dress and go to the prom anyways.

How will this all turn out? Watch and find out. Let me single out James Spader as doing a great turn as Blaine's snobby friend Steff. He is the one who convinces Blaine that Andie is nothing special. Plus there is a scene I will never forget. At the high school, as Andie passes Steff at a distance, he gives her a look like she is something he scraped off of his shoe. It is creepy and it is real. Kudos to Mr. Spader for such a great early performance.

The excellent supporting cast includes Harry Dean Stanton as Molly's dad, James Spader perfecting his rich jerk persona, Annie Potts as Andie's kooky co-worker at a record store who thinks she is a relic because she is mid 30s, Kate Vernon, Gina Gershon, Kristy Swanson, Margaret Colin, Dweezil Zappa, and Andrew "Dice" Clay. The script by John Hughes mostly works, and the good New Wave songs on the soundtrack add to the film's charm. I'm not exactly the target audience for teen romance films, even thirty years ago when it was released, but even I enjoyed it, so if it's your kind of thing, you should love it.

Just one more thing...Jon Cryer grew up and filled out nicely. Who would have thought in 1986 that 25 years later Cryer would be the hunk and Charlie Sheen would have the appearance of a death mask. Go for depth girls, you don't know what the geeky guy in high school will look like when he matures.

It is hard to believe that this was 13 years ago. Has it really been that long since we said goodbye to the Brat-Pack? When I watched Pretty In Pink it made me laugh, but more importantly it brought me back to a time that was fun, had less pressure ( in some ways ), and there were a plethora of films that were made aimed at us teens. The early 80's will at least partly be remembered as a time when teen flicks ruled. Everything from Fast Times and Porky's to The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink, they were all there and they all tried to do the same thing. Entertain. Sure John Hughes always seemed to have some heavy issues in his films, but ultimately his films were there for us to enjoy for 90 minutes. Pretty In Pink is one of the best at accomplishing that.

What makes this film such the standout that it is, is everything really. The actors were fresh and cool. The dialogue was smart and easy for us to relate to. The situations of love covered areas that we have probably all been through. There was the unobtainable love that just seemed like a fantasy. There was the two really good friends, one male and one female, that just weren't meant to be lovers and the heartbreak that one is inevitably going to experience. There was perhaps not being accepted by your love interests peers and so on. Watching this film I could understand how Duckie felt. I could feel his anger when he watches his best friend, and his secret love interest, date the personification of what ( and Andie ) consider the personification of snobbery. She has probably complained many a night about how she is tired of being treated unfairly just because she wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and now she dates one. I could feel Ducky's pain. And that can be attributed to John Hughes for writing a brilliant script, but also to Jon Cryer for making his character what he is. You can sense his insecurities and his undying devotion to a girl that he knows he will probably never get. And when he sits with Andies dad and chats about love, there is one of the greatest lines in the film. Jack ( Harry Dean Stanton ) tells him that you can't force love, it is either goging to happen or it isn't. You can't control these things. And that is what makes love so painful. While you may be perfect for someone, that someone wants the perfection of someone else. And that sucks, love's a bitch Duck. Love's a bitch.

Pretty In Pink epitomizes everything that made the 80's a great time for teen flicks. Secret loves, proms, a great soundtrack and John Hughes. What more can you ask for? This is one of the best.

Writer John Hughes has the 80's pegged. But this story could have been set in the 50's or 60's and still worked well. That is why I think this movie is so relevant. Devotion, friendship, and self worth are quizzed. The young actors were better than expected. I have watched this over a dozen times and I don't care if some people refer to this as a "chick flick".

A young girl falls in love with a boy from the other side of the tracks. Problems occur when his peers think the object of his desires is socially beneath him.

Molly Ringwald was very good. Andrew McCarthy and Jon Cryer seemed to feel their part more than the rest of the cast. But James Spader was such a realistic jerk, you want to get up and punch his face in. Harry Dean Stanton and Annie Potts play the adult roles of substance. Have you ever seen Stanton so sympathetic?

A very upbeat soundtrack keeps the movie flowing and helps you feel the atmosphere. Don't write this off as just another teen movie. Highly recommended.

An 80's movie. You have to love them. This is one of the few that do have a slight twist on the ending though. I like this film for many reasons. Molly Ringwald is the queen of the teen movies in the 80's. She is a must watch in all of these classic films. I also loved the fact that you got to see some later on famous stars appear in this film like Kristy Swanson and Gina Gershon. Neither really had any lines but they were in it. Make sure to see this movie if you get a chance. Romance or not, it is a good film.

I have seen all John Hughes movies from the 80s starring Molly Ringwald and you can't really watch them without comparing them. "Sixteen candles" is more of a "pure" teen-comedy with a big house party followed by a "hangover"-morning, and "Breakfast Club" is the most serious one and, as far as I'm concerned, the most distinctive of the "Brat-pack" movies.

Breakfast Club is the one I like the most, but "Pretty in pink" is also a very good movie. Molly plays (as always) a very unusual girl who lives with her lazy but very caring father (Harry Dean Stanton). She has only two real friends and one of them is a guy called "Duckie". Duckie is kind of a geek and Jon Cryer does this part so good you don't even miss Anthony Michael Hall a bit. Molly also works in a record store owned by her other friend played by Annie Potts.

Molly falls in love with a rich and popular guy (McCarthey) who has mutual feelings. The story is very cliché with a rich guy and a poor girl from two opposite sides of society who falls in love, causing disappointments among their old friends. Duckie is really hurt and McCarthey's best friend tells him to drop Molly, mostly caused by jealousy in this case. This jealous friend is played by James Spader and he is very good at playing bad. The cliché's are told with charm and intelligence though (like "Mischief") and some scenes almost brings tears to the eyes. (I wonder if the movie would have been even better if Hughes had directed it himself!?)

Anyway, it's a sweet story with many wonderful actors typical of the 80s. Remember to look for a very young and very gorgeous Gina Gershon as a High School girl.

The only thing I miss is a great song or two, like the ones in Sixteen candles and Breakfast club. Otherwise if you're crazy like me about the movies from the 80s I see no reason to skip this one.

This movie also has one of the most clever titles ever.