Pretty in Pink (1986)

Pretty in Pink

Director:  Howard Deutch
Writer: John Hughes
Release Date: February 28, 1986




Synopsis: Young Andie (Molly Ringwald) is one of the not-so-popular girls in high school. She usually hangs out with her friends Iona (Annie Potts) or Duckie (Jon Cryer). Duckie has always had a crush on her, but now she has met a new guy from school, Blane (Andrew McCarthy). He's one of the rich and popular guys but can the two worlds meet? 

Flick Facts:  
*  Pretty in Pink was filmed at the same L.A. high school that 1978's Grease was filmed at (although it was allegedly in Illinois, following Hughes' filmatic precedents)
*  The original ending of the film had Duckie getting his girl . . . until test audiences stated they would prefer for Andie to end up with Blane.  So the original ending was scratched and reshot, with Andie and Blane getting together
*  Anthony Michael Hall (the infamous geeky Ted from Sixteen Candles) turned down the role of Duckie, and Robert Downey, Jr. almost had the part but it ended up going to Jon Cryer
* Other notables considered for the lead roles?  Charlie Sheen (Blane), Jodie Foster, Tatum O'Neal, Diane Lane, Lori Loughlin, Sarah Jessica Parker and Brooke Shields (Andie)
* This was the last cinematic collaboration between John Hughes and Molly Ringwald (Hughes reportedly wanted her to star in 1987's Some Kind of Wonderful but she turned him down and he severed their professional relationship)
*  This is Molly Ringwald's favorite among her own films

She Said, He Said:
*   "May I admire you again today?"
*   "His name is Blane?  That's a major appliance, that's not a name!"
*   "Drinking and driving don't mix, that's why I ride a bike."
*   "Listen, it's after 7.  Don't waste good lip gloss."
*   "This is an incredibly romantic moment and you're ruining it for me."
*   "I know I"m old enough to be his mother but when the Duck laid that kiss on me last night, I swear my thighs just went up in flames!  He must practice on melons or something."


Chic Chick Sounds:

Pretty in Pink's soundtrack is a delicious smorgasboard of what was then alternative new wave '80s punk.  Everything from OMD to Michael Hutchens to Nik Kershaw graced the soundtrack - - even Otis Redding makes an appearance!  Despite The Psychedelic Furs' cover track ("Pretty in Pink"), the biggest hit from the movie would be OMD's "If You Leave" which was played as the movie ended. 

Pretty in Pink completed Molly Ringwald's trifecta of stellar and commercially explosive (read: cha-ching!) John Hughes teen angst films.  This was the first film, however, that she played a "from the wrong side of the tracks" girl.  

The storyline itself is a retelling of Romeo & Juliet, but set at an Illinois high school.   Ringwald excels as she normally does, playing your Everyday Teen Girl in Love.  Who didn't want to be her friend back in the '80s?  Certainly this girl did.  Annie Potts is a hoot as Andie's boss and friend, Iona, James Spader is appropriately douchey as the self-centered and spoiled Steff and Andrew McCarthey is servicable as sweet but incredibly bland Blane.  The real standout is Jon Cryer as Duckie, in a role written for him (or so it seems). 

What makes this Romeo & Juliet retelling such a chick flick classic is that you want to root for the underdog.  Sure, we all know that Andie will end up with Blane (it is Hollywood, after all) but don't we all secretly want Andie to tell Blane they will always be friends but her heart is with Duckie?  If Pretty in Pink was set in college or beyond, we all know that Andie would choose Duckie.  Doubt me?  Check out Bridget Jones' Diary - - if Bridget was Andie, Daniel would be Blane and Mark Darcy and his jacked up reindeer jumpers would be Duckie.

Best parts of Pretty in Pink:  The interaction between Andie and Duckie.  These two are best friends in every sense of the word, even if there are no romantic feelings on Andie's end. 


Worst parts of Pretty in Pink:  Okay, I have to say it.  I know it's a movie and I know movies sometimes have to be cliche, but the stereotyping of rich kids versus poor kids.  If Andie and her classmates were high school freshmen, I could see the severe cliques and teasing but high school seniors doing that?  Really? 


Spawns and Sequels:   Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) was essentially a remake of Pretty in Pink, set in an L.A. suburb, with the Andie character now being Keith, the Blane character now Amanda and the Duckie character now a female drummer named Watts.  Reportedly unhappy with the storybook ending of Pretty in Pink, John Hughes had the poor boy and poor girl end up together and the "richie" standing on her own.  Some Kind of Wonderful was significantly less successful than Pretty in Pink (and lacking the then super powers of Molly Ringwald) and faded out of theaters relatively quickly but has gained more perspective through cable showings and DVD release.

The Final Word:  While The Breakfast Club was essentially a bigger hit than Pink (grossing over $45 million versus $40 million in 1986 dollars), Pretty in Pink is the film that I would love to see a sequel to.  What would The Breakfast Club show us twenty plus years down the road?  John Bender on parole, Andrew Clark as Shermer High's gym teacher, Brian Johnson as a wildly successful Bill Gates type, Claire Standish unhappily married to the guy who knocked her up in college and Allison Reynolds as the crazy art teacher, possibly headed for rehab.  I would much rather see where Duckie is today, if Andie is still with Blane, and what a lowlife Steff is and how many wives he's gone through. 

Pretty in Pink just pulls the 80s together for me, in fashion and in music.  And Molly Ringwald proves that redheads can, indeed, wear pink.

Pretty in Pink  is available for purchase at major movie sellers, including Amazon.

The Women (1939)

The Women
Director:  Geoge Cukor
Writer(s):  Clare Booth Luce (play)
                 Anita Loos (screenplay)
Release Date:  September 1, 1939

Synopsis:  Be careful what you say in private. It could become a movie. Some gossip overheard by Clare Boothe Luce in a nightclub powder room inspired her Broadway hit that's wittily adapted for the screen in The Women. George Cukor directs an all-female cast in this catty tale of battling and bonding that paints its claws Jungle Red and shreds the excesses of pampered Park Avenue princesses. Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Mary Boland and Paulette Goddard are among the array of husband snatchers, snitches and lovelorn ladies.

Flick Facts:  

*     There are over 130 roles in this movie, all played by women. 
*     Phyllis Povah, Marjorie Main, Mary Cecil and Marjorie Wood originated their roles in the play, which opened on 7 September 1937 and had 666 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York.
*     In addition to its all-female cast, every animal that was used in the film (the many dogs and horses) was female as well. In addition, none of the works of art seen in the backgrounds were representative of the male form.
*     Myrna Loy and Greta Garbo were the only top-tier female stars at MGM who did not star in this film, although Loy was considered for the role of Crystal Allen.
*     Although uncredited, F. Scott Fitzgerald contributed to the writing of the screenplay.
*     The film debut of actress Butterfly McQueen (best known as Gone With thte Wind's Prissy)
*     Director George Cukor was fired as director of Gone With the Wind a month prior to the scheduled start of filming of The Women.

She Said, She Said:

*       "Don't confide in your girlfriends.  If you let them advise you, they'll see to it in the name of friendship that you lose your husband and your home."
*     "You know, the first man that can think up a good explanation how he can be in love with his wife and another woman is going to win that prize they are always giving out in Sweden." 
*     "There's a name for you ladies, but it isn't used in high society . . . outside a kennel." 

         
While The Women can, and should be, a cringe-inducing nightmare for feminists, for those of us who appreciate sharp wit and classic old movies, The Women is a precious gem of a film, released in that cinematically overabundant year of 1939.  The mere fact that absolutely no males appear in the film at all, including the animals (and it's rumored that even books appearing on a bookshelf are those written by female authors only) qualifies this as a chick flick.  But what truly cements The Women its place in chick flick heaven is that this is a movie about men.  Nothing but men.  But from the female perspective. 

In a nutshell, Mary Haines has been happily married to Stephen for ten years.  She lives in the country (that would likely be Connecticut, since "the city" is New York) in  her lovely country home with ten year old daughter Mary (it was 1939, people), some horses, a dog named Sheba, a cook and a maid.  Yep, life looked pretty good for Mary.  Until her gossipy friend Sylvia (Mrs. Howard) Fowler overhears from chatty manicurist Olga that Stephen is stepping out on Mary.  Worse, Stephen is doing his cheating with perfume salesgal Crystal Allen.  In short order, Mary throws Stephen out, Stephen goes running to Crystal, Mary gets a divorce in Reno, Stephen marries Crystal, both Mary and Stephen realize they are miserable and end up together in the end.

Sounds incredibly elementary when it's broken down like that but this movie is chock full of witty cracks, barbs and stupendous supporting and character actresses.  Is it dated?  Sure.  How many of us can imagine staying at home, with a chef, a maid, a gardener and our most taxing event of the day getting a nail appointment?  Watching this movie, though, you can imagine!

Best parts of The Women:  The dialogue and the actresses.  I've already commented on how sharp the dialogue is - - this was when the censorship code was in effect so both Clare Booth Luce and Anita Loos made incredible use of the double entendre and hidden meanings.  The actresses, with support from director George Cukor, did a first rate job of pulling them off.   Rosalind Russell, as Sylvia, absolutely ran away with the show.  Not an easy feat when you've got Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Paulette Goddard, Joan Fontaine and Marjorie Main, among others, up there with you.   Oh, and let's not forget about the Technicolor fashion show halfway through.  Definitely worth popping the popcorn on its own.

Worst parts of The Women:  Two, and for completely different reasons.  First, the character of Peggy O'Day.    She might have been true to her times but she came across as weak and a bit sniveling.  She's going to leave her husband because he won't let her have a job?  But then when she decides to go back, she's going "to do everything John says"?  Yuck.  Second, Norma Shearer.  Not that Ms. Shearer's portrayal wasn't good - - it was.  Unfortunately for her, this is the performance she's primarily remembered for . . . playing the wronged, almost saintly wife.  (Which also plays into her critic's rebukes that Shearer only became a star due to being Mrs. Irving Thalberg and the roles he bought her).  It's certainly not her best performance and a far cry from the amazing roles she had in the late '20s and early '30s but Shearer was well suited for the role.

Spawns and Sequels:  The Opposite Sex (1956) was a musical remake with June Allyson taking over the Mary Haines part and Joan Collins stepping into Joan Crawford's heels.  Not even adding male actors to the film could save this stinker.
The Women (2008) went back to the tried and true formula -- no music and no men and some big names in the key roles. However, as cute as she's been in the past, Meg Ryan (herself a frequent chick flick flyer) just couldn't pull off Mary Haines and the whole film came across like a deflated balloon.

The Final Word:  The Women  is one of my absolute favorite films of all time.  I have seen this movie so many times I have actually worn out a VHS tape of it.  No matter how many times you watch it, it still retains its freshness and humor.  And boy do I wish I could have been in that theater in 1939 when it premiered. 

The Women  may be purchased at major movie sellers, as well as at Amazon, at the following links.
http://astore.amazon.com/psychstate0e-20/detail/B0008ENICU
http://astore.amazon.com/psychstate0e-20/detail/B000063K2W
http://astore.amazon.com/psychstate0e-20/detail/6304056958

The 2008 remake of The Women may be purchased at major movie sellers, as well as at Amazon, at the following links:

http://astore.amazon.com/psychstate0e-20/detail/B0017ANAZO
http://astore.amazon.com/psychstate0e-20/detail/B001J6NZGU

The Opposite Sex may be purchased at Amazon, at the following link:

http://astore.amazon.com/psychstate0e-20/detail/6301980727