Don't You Forget About Me

Finally a documentary about the life of John Hughes. The unfortunate part is that it's made by amateur Canadian (sadly) filmmakers. The interviews with the stars of Hughes' films are the best part of this documentary. The let down is that while Judd Nelson and other stars are present, there are many stars who aren't. Where was Matthew Broderick? The filmmakers also go on an adventure to go to Hughes' home and subsequently interview him. I'll save you the effort.They don't interview Hughes because they're silly amateurs who wrote up their interview questions half an hour earlier in a coffee shop. They also get Hughes' home address from his pizza delivery man.

It's worth watching for the interviews with the cast of Breakfast Club (sans Molly Ringwald, Estevez, Michael Hall), Weird Science (sans Michael Hall), Ferris Bueller (sans Matthew Broderick,Jeffrey Jones (Rooney)). You get the idea. They also interview filmmaker inspired by Hughes like Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) and Kevin Smith (Clerks). The celebs don't need much prodding so it's the best part of the documentary.

I still hope someone makes a halfway decent documentary about the life of John Hughes. Hopefully it won't be deluded fan-boys who treat Hughes like he's Jesus Christ or John Lennon (okay, Hughes really is the Gen X Lennon). Hughes is dead but his legacy lives on. The man simply wanted privacy and we'll probably never know how many weirdos showed up at his door telling him how important he is. It's the J.D. Salinger effect.

"Don't You Forget About Me" A documentary every fan of John Hughes wanted to see made by a group of filmmakers no one wanted to see make it. Sadly the filmmakers involved in the creation of this project possess non of the talent the subject of the film himself embodied. Excellent moments with cast members of Mr. Hughes films and moments with the filmmakers of the documentary you cannot fast forward through quickly enough. John, I promise you I will never forget about you or the joy, tears, laughter and unforgettable lines you left behind. You will always be one of a kind. To the creators of this documentary, I will forget about you I've pressed the submit button.

I've always wonder what ever happened to the late John Hughes. To my mind, he was a brilliant writer. His movies captured something that other movies, recent or in the past, haven't. The question always haunted me, where is he and why isn't he doing anymore films?

This documentary takes four producers/filmmakers/friends on a road trip to the homeland of Mr. Hughes, Chicago Illinois. It acts as a tribute, a road trip documentary and an insight to the man of THE teen movies. The filmmakers takes the road with cuts of cast & crew members from past John Hughes films being interviewed. Not exactly interviewed. It's more like hearing their theories where he could be, why he left, how he wrote characters that everyone can relate to and their message to the legendary writer/director.

There's other people being interviewed as well like the producers from Napoleon Dynamite, Kevin Smith of Clerks & Dogma, producer & director of Not Another Teen Movie and Jason Reitman of Juno. And then there's today's teens and everyday kid on the street on what they think of John Hughes movies compared to today's teen films.

After seeing this documentary through the series of theories from cast members, quotes from John Hughes and clips from his movies, you get a sense why he left. The folks who produced this documentary handled it really well but I wish more interviews were done with other past cast members. Please note this documentary and its content were filmed before his unfortunate passing in mid-2009. The documentary is in its entirely, unaltered with the exception of a note of Mr. Hughes being passed away at the end.

Definitely a must see for the John Hughes fan who, like me, wondered where he was and why he suddenly disappeared.

"I miss you very much. I'm tired of talking to you in my mind, I would like to talk to you in person" ~ Judd Nelson

John Hughes is a personal hero of mine, so I was desperate to see this film, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed, mainly because the contributions from his movie stars, from Ally Sheedy to Alan Ruck, were respectful, sincere and full of adoration. All of them wondering what happened to a man who they considered a dear friend.

I had to think though, if these actors and producers were such good friends of Hughes, wouldn't he have wanted to stay in touch? Wouldn't he have missed their company as much as they claim to miss his?

One aspect of this film that I found utterly pointless was the group of wannabe film-makers, documenting their attempts to talk to the man himself. It was kind of like a secondary unneeded documentary mcguffin. It did give a glimpse in to their passion for this project though, but I found their street walking interviews with kids who obviously have no idea what they're talking about to be tacky and last-minute.

This movie being made while Hughes was still alive, provided a sense of longing optimism for the return of Hughes, as the actors that have given interviews beg him to come back, which leaves you with a depressing taste in your mouth at the end of the film as you realise he's gone and his genius has gone with him.

Notably absent was a contribution from Matthew Broderick, Molly Ringwald and Macaulay Culkin, which disappointed me considering I cried like a baby at their Oscars tribute.

I give this film a 6/20 for effort, because despite its shortcomings, it's clearly a labour of love and who can blame them for that?

Oh, and I still think Judd Nelson is a self righteous, conceited showpony.

Filmmakers Matt Austin Sadowski, Lenny Panzer, Michael Facciolo and Kari Hollend are traveling from Toronto to Illinois in search of their favorite teen movie director John Hughes. His last directing job is Curly Sue in 1991 and he hasn't done an interview since 1999. The four have interviewed many of the actors and fans of his films who lament the state of present day teen movies.

They find the door closed and Hughes would be dead soon after. This would be a great homage to the man except for the slightly-creepy stalking. There is no doubt that the movie needs to interview Hughes. Without that, the worst thing for this movie is a rejection from Hughes. That's what this is. The man has left Hollywood and it would be better to let him exist without the fan stalkers outside his home.

It's nice to see the former Hughes stars and the nice things they have to say about the man. It's obviously made by people who love his work. Jim Kerr from Simple Minds has an interesting story about the song. Also Howard Deutch's story of Hughes writing 50 pages of Ferris Beuller in one night is another nice behind-the-scene tidbit. The movie is short or else I would suggest cutting out the hunting party. I would suggest leaving it out anyways.