User reviews

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There are many themes in this well written, well-acted movie. Seeing it again in my adult years, a new perspective emerged. The men in Andie's life consist of her dad, her friend Duckie, and a school friend, Blane. Duckie and her dad can't seem to take responsibility for their behaviour, nor their own happiness. Duckie says to Andie, "I'm not particularly concerned with whether or not you like me, because I live to like you ." He holds Andie responsible for his happiness and plays the victim.

Blane is willing to walk with Andie through the minefields of their respective social peers. He shoulders responsibility and tries to clear the way for a solid relationship with Andie. He cracks under that weight. Later he tells Andie "I believed in you, I always believed in you. It was you who didn't believe in me." That's when Duckie realizes Blane is the better man. What will Duckie do about that?

... 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.

Writer John Hughes apparently reveres his childhood, in about the same way the makers of TV's "Happy Days" revered the 1950s. He has wrapped up his memories in plastic coating and taken care to make certain everything comes off COOL--even his leading character, a high school misfit, is very cool simply by having her rebuff the popular clique (a clique most teens would prefer to be in, rather than being tagged an 'outcast'). As played by Molly Ringwald, this high school unfortunate has her own phone, her own car, and her own job (in a fashionably retro record shop). "Pretty In Pink" is designed to make high school look good to junior high schoolers. It's Hughes' heaven for the have-nots (those who can afford it, anyway), where a misfit culture can make goofy glasses and thrift-shop attire something to LONG for. As a romantic teen-comedy, it stumbles by giving us insufferably smug Andrew McCarthy as Ringwald's dream guy (he's the type of actor who relaxes only when it's his close-up) and James Spader as the preppy villain (he looks so old, at first I thought he might be one of the teachers in "Miami Vice" dress). Ringwald is charming, and Jon Cryer takes a formula role as a goofy guy-pal and makes it something a little special (although it's a hand-me-down from Anthony Michael Hall). The film has some sincerity and a few witty lines, but basically it's pap (or rather, pablum) for audiences unwilling to chew, just swallow. ** from ****

PRETTY IN PINK and Molly Ringwald were to the 80s, as CLUELESS and Alicia Silverstone is to the 90s. An excellent cast and some fine acting were guaranteed enough to have branded this a teenage classic from the 80s. They don't make good movies like this anymore! The clever talent from John Hughes doesn't just mean it's a far-out comedy, but he expresses the problems of young love from central character Ringwald that sound dramatic and satirizing. In other words, a girl-meets-boy story that offers a wide spectrum of situations that are confronted in the real world. Like I already said, the cast is exceptional, including the sensational Jon Cryer doing a lip-synching of that familiar tune from THE COMMITMENTS. Annie Potts is a pure delight at changing one wig after the next (what a nice impersonation of Audrey Hepburn!). The movie wouldn't have been anywhere near complete without the memorable hit tune "If You Leave" (Orchestral Manoevers In The Dark). While the end has a hard time getting things straight, there is a valuable moment that caresses deeply. From start to finish, this one still holds up against the recent string of teen pictures that aren't as cool or refreshing (CLUELESS and REALITY BITES are the exceptions). A movie like this is great when it's not so raunchy.

Charming high school drama, but you expect nothing less from writer John Hughes.

Sums up well the anxieties and politics of high school. Also has a bit of a comment on social status and class divides.

Mostly a romantic drama, but has its comedic moments.

On the negative side, feels a bit formulaic. Also not as deeply emotional, or complex as some of Hughes other 80s movies. Plus, some of the characters felt unrealistic and contrived. Jon Cryer's character was particularly annoying.

Good performance by Molly Ringwald, a regular in John Hughes movies, in the lead role. As mentioned, Jon Cryer is annoying. Good support from Harry Dean Stanton, Andrew MacCarthy, James Spader and Annie Potts.

PRETTY IN PINK

STARRING: MOLLY RINGWALD, ANDREW MCCARTHY

Molly Ringwald plays Andie, a poor girl who lives with her father after her mother left them. She falls in love with a "richie", as she calls him, named Blane (who is played by Andrew McCarthy) but the pressure of friends is in the way of their relationship being perfect. Meanwhile, Andie's best friend Duckie is declaring even more his undying love for her.

"Pretty in Pink" is one of those great teen movies that only comes along once. It has a fantastic sound track, cute guys, a great leading lady and a clever plot with some of the most romantic movie scenes of its time. It defines the 80s high school years with its cliques, which still are around until this day, and the problems that occur when you fall in love with someone else on the other side of the tracks.

I give this movie **** out of *****

This movie set in the mid 80s era of brat-pack movies is a unique shining star. Molly Ringwald is Andie a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who has romantic interests from both sides of the spectrum; Duckie (Jon Cryer) who's puppy dog love for her is both sweet and endearing to watch, and Blane (Andrew McCarthy) the rich guy who has everything going for him. What follows is Andie having to deal with this, the bitchy cheerleader type girls at school, her loving but dishonest father (An excellent Harry Dean Stanton) and through all this will she get an invitation to the prom? This is a great film with both Blane and Andie having to deal with their friends disagreeing with their relationship. Steff (James Spader at one of his very best) Blane's best friend, who tries to make Blane decide between Andie and himself when really he just wants a finger in the pie. Annie Potts as Iona, Andie's quirky older best friend is excellent and her weird and orginal costume changes throughout the movie are a high-point. This is an emotionally raw film a rarity at the time it was made. If you ask me this should have swept the Oscar nominations with Molly Ringwald getting Best Actress, but hey regardless of the miss of Oscars, watch this, it is a powerful film and a great piece of film making

I like John Hughes's movies, but Pretty in Pink is not a favourite. It is too short, and the story structure is occasionally too hackneyed complete with an ending that didn't quite convince me. But it was strikingly filmed, with an agreeable soundtrack, snappy script, bouncy pacing and good direction. When it comes to the acting, it is quite good, and the characters are at least likable. Molly Ringwald holds this movie together, and she is very good. Andrew McCarthy and James Spader are also appealing, while Harry Dean Stanton and Annie Potts are sterling. Overall, Pretty in Pink is not a John Hughes classic, but it is worth the watch at least once. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I've gone backwards and forwards on this movie a lot. The two lead performances are great by Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy, the film is well paced, the soundtrack is excellent and some of the dialogue is pretty good too. I also really liked the female music shop friend too, a nice addition to the movie.

Where the film doesn't work for me is largely in the writing of the various male characters, firstly the father is so sluggish and feckless that it's quite annoying he won't do more to help improve his daughters circumstances matierally. Secondly the character of Blane becomes so spineless he doesn't really deserve to get the girl at the end given how he treats her. The worst by far though is Duckie, a petulant attention seeker with a horrific sense of fashion and humour.

There's even some aspects of the film like the costumes and cinematography I wasnt that impressed with either.

All in all then a mixed review from me but there's just enough in it to like and recommend.

Very 80s. Very high school. Pretty in Pink is a classic Brat Pack film that does a good job expressing some of the emotional drama that teenagers go through. I still don't see the appeal of Molly Ringwald, though.

One of the best movies of the 80s that leaves you at your knees in the end. Pretty in pink is about. Andie (Molly Ringwald) who is an outcast at her Chicago high school, hanging out either with her older boss (Annie Potts), who owns the record store where she works, or her quirky classmate Duckie (Jon Cryer), who has a crush on her. When one of the rich and popular kids at school, Blane (Andrew McCarthy), asks Andie out, it seems too good to be true. As Andie starts falling for Blane, she begins to realizes that dating someone from a different social sphere is not easy. It is definitely one of the movies I have seen at least one hundred times because it is just amazing entertaining and has a great sound track who cares if it's over rated it is a great movie.

I put on Pretty in Pink for the first time, not knowing exactly what to expect. Everyone's heard of it, heard the title at least. It's considered a classic by most teens of that age, and even still be many teens today. And after watching it, I have to say it definitely deserves to be.

This is a great movie. A story about a poor girl who falls for the rich hunk who's crushing on her, only to be caught between a feud of sorts because of the two sides (rich, poor) disagreeing with the relationship. It doesn't help that her best friend is in love with her too. The film's touching and funny story, superb cast, and great message are all wonderful. John Hughes does an excellent job of creating a film that will last forever as a classic example of American film-making.

He owes a lot to his pitch-perfect cast. Molly Ringwald is perfectly believable and understandable in the lead role of Andie. Andrew McCarthy and Annie Potts are good too in the role of the love-struck hunk and Andie co-worker/friend, respectively. But it's Jon Cryer as Andie's best friend Duckie who steals the show completely. Could he be any more adorable??? His character is spot-on, and though I'm sure he wasn't even considered, I really thought his performance was Oscar-Worthy. He leaves a long-lasting impression, even after the screen is black.

Really, the only problem with this movie is it's less-than-perfect ending. But really, it only goes to show the real message of the movie: Love isn't perfect. And it only makes you adore Duckie more, which is half of what makes the movie so fantastic. Truly, a great piece of work- A true classic. Watch it! 8/10 stars!!!

Jay Addison