La chica de rosa

Possible spoilers: To hell with the Duckie vs. Blane question. Steff's the only interesting one.

1. He's fearless: Duckie's afraid to tell Andie he loves her, Blane's afraid of his friends, but Steff walks up and hits on her right in front of his friends without caring what they'll think. He exploits Blane's shame about Andie but clearly feels no shame himself.

2. Duckie's suffering puppy love, Blane's just curious, but Steff has been after Andie for years. When he says it's "not *only* for sex," he's probably telling the truth, in his own sarcastic way. Key scene, when Blane and Andie walk in on Steff and Benny Bimbo, and Steff clearly wishes he were with the hot geeky girl, instead of the vapid blonde, even if Benny is better-looking, sexually available, and approved by his friends. And it's not only the challenge attracts him to Andie: despite his arrogance, he's probably been turned down before. He just suspects that with Andie, he'd have something real, and with Benny, whether her ecstasy is real or faked, it will be conducted according to "Cosmo."

3. He's willing to fight for what he wants, i.e., sabotaging Andie's relationship with Blane. OK, he's fighting dirty--but he's fighting at all. The others are about as decisive as Hamlet.

Right, enough deep thought devoted to what should probably be regarded as another teen movie. I give full credit to Spader, who fleshed out what could have been a one-dimensional baddie by making him really interested in Andie in his own sociopathic way, instead giving lip-service to a script that could have been played with the character being vicious solely out of hurt pride and snobbery.

Although John Hughes didn't direct this film, his steady hand is evident all throughout in this much more serious story about a poor girl and a rich guy who want to be together despite all odds against them. Despite the more serious tone of this movie, it still has some funny and touching scenes, most of them featuring Duckie, the best friend of Andie and perhaps the man that truly loves her. However, she has her heart set on Blane, the rich preppie who claims he doesn't act like his snobbish friends do but it is hard to tell at times.

What makes this movie so great is how it is willing to treat all these kids as adults in real situations and real emotions. The acting accentuates these overtones with Molly Ringwald in perhaps her most sophisticated role, Jon Cryer as the lovable Duckie, Andrew McCarthy as Blane, and James Spader in a perfectly devilish role as Steff, the worst of the bunch by so smooth and relentless, it is hard not to be impressed by him. All in all, this is one of the better 1980s teen movies and one that I think people will remember more fondly as it isn't so overtly unique that people can relate to the characters and feel for them. Unfortunately, it was essentially the end of the Molly Ringwald-era, but her memory in these three Hughes movies will always stay with us.

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.

One last collaboration for John Hughes and Molly Ringwald, whose creative partnership dissolved after this film. Somewhat softer and more self-serious than the preceding teen epics Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, it tackles social cliques and classism from various perspectives. Ringwald and leading man Andrew McCarthy, akin to Romeo and Juliet, find their young relationship stressed by the negative influence of friends who insist they find someone closer to their own status. There really isn't much sparkle to the pairing, though, apart from a few awkward make-out scenes, and they both come off as especially wet noodles in comparison to the vibrant, brash supporting cast. Jon Cryer is most memorable of these as Duckie, a flamboyant mod who's been carrying a torch for Ringwald all his life, and nearly steals the film with an abrupt dance/lip-sync number just before everything gets overly angsty. Most of the third act is wasted on hand-wringing and moping, though, and the ending (changed at the last minute, much to Hughes's chagrin) feels disingenuous even if it does make a better fit for the movie's theme. The window dressings are drowned in '80s flavor, too, from the appropriately synthy soundtrack to the Halloween-grade costume choices. Looks like everyone at this school was either Don Johnson, Sid Vicious or Morrissey.

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.