L'amour à l'envers

This is one of those films which creeps up on you.

On the surface, it is a romantic cliche, but it is extremely well done. The main characters, especially Watts (a very young Mary Stuart Masterson), turn in superb performances, and lift this way above the ordinary.

Good comic-relief from the support cast - watch especially for the scenes with Keith's sister Laura, and the one between Watts and her admirer - which is a real hoot!

For sheer romantic escapism, this film is close enough to perfect. And can be seen over and over.

Enjoy.

Mary stuart Masterson plays a girl who has a crush on Eric Stoltz who has been friends with her for a long time but she never has told her feelings. When Stoltz starts hanging around with the rich crowd and falls for the snobby beauty queen Lea Thomson Masterson fears she may lose him. A well scripted comedy romance drama slice of life that John Hughes does right every now and then. on a scale of one to ten..8

SPOILER: I seen this film when it first came out and I was 15 years old... it always stuck with me. I guess because the story was a lot like my own life and I could really relate to Mary Stuart Masterson's character SO much. I was best friends with a boy in my class, we were both into music, theater and art and did'nt fit in with the "popular-preppy" kids in school and really did'nt fit in with the "pot-head-troublemakers" either. We just did'nt fit in anywhere.. but we always had one another and hung out all the time. I was totally in love with him (still am to this very day, he will always be a part of my life and in my heart)... well, he just did'nt have a clue that I cared about him in that way and all I ever heard was how much he "loved" one of the cheerleaders. She never gave him the time of day and he still had this "thing" for her... Our story was'nt as happy though, he never found out how I felt for him.. I got married to someone else later on and so did he and we have since lost touch and I have been looking for him. Guess the first time I seen this movie, I liked it just because it was SUCH a good movie but a few years later seeing it, it really hit me in the face and to this day I always watch it whenever I get the chance and remember my friend...

I know it's not as well known, but this film came together so well that it can't be denied. A great mix of comedy and teen melodrama, this film perfectly combined all the best elements of a John Hughes film. By switching the sexes- Eric Stoltz as Molly Ringwald, and Mary Stuart Masterson as Jon Cryer- of "Pretty in Pink", the film delves deeper than "The Breakfast Club"- almost accidentally. The chemistry between Stolz and Masterson is powerful and real, something missing in almost all John Hughes films, and it pays off. This one has stayed with me since it came out, and I've watched it since and it holds up really well. Great supporting actors like John Ashton and Elias Koteaus provide fun comedy breaks, and little Candace Cameron as the little sister is terrific too- she went on to great TV fame. But the strength of the film is the fine acting. Stoltz has the harder more thankless role, and gives it a depth and charm that are a relief to see, and Masterson all but steals the movie. Together they are John Hughes best couple, even though he didn't direct this film.

Even though he didn't sit in the director's chair, "Some Kind of Wonderful" has John Hughes' fingerprints all over it. Which is a good thing. And while everyone says this is a carbon copy of "Pretty in Pink" (it is), it hits the target. This movie handles issues of class division and status pretty well. True love's been under Eric Stoltz's nose the entire time, he just had to get over his infatuation with the popular girl first. And we've all been there; we've all wanted someone who was beyond our reach (especially in high school). That empathy is key here. Age is really the only catch (these actors are too old to play teenagers), but it's also a cast that features John Ashton and Elias Koteas. That's a win in my book.

7/10