Movielogr

Rating: 3 stars

All movies seen on 12/05/2011

View on: IMDb | TMDb

Pretty in Pink (1986)

Directed by Howard Deutch

Comedy

Most recently watched by VicnaLobster, lordofthemovies, seanCduregger

Overview

Andie is an outcast, hanging out either with her older boss, who owns the record store where she works, or her quirky high school classmate Duckie, who has a crush on her. When one of the rich and popular kids at school, Blane, asks Andie out, it seems too good to be true. As Andie starts falling for Blane, she begins to realize that dating someone from a different social sphere is not easy.

Rated PG-13 | Length 97 minutes

Actors

Molly Ringwald | Harry Dean Stanton | Jon Cryer | Annie Potts | James Spader | Andrew McCarthy | Jim Haynie | Alexa Kenin | Kate Vernon | Andrew Dice Clay | Emily Longstreth | Jamie Anders | Margaret Colin | Gina Gershon | Bader Howar | Christian Jacobs | Audre Johnston | Kristy Swanson | Dweezil Zappa | Maggie Roswell | Karen E. Laine | Melanie Manos | Kimberly L. Ryusaki | James Huffman | William Winckler

Viewing History (seen 2 times)

Viewing Notes

Like most kids of the Eighties, I grew up with John Hughes defining our generation, but I was banned from a few due to “age appropriateness”; PRETTY IN PINK is one of those. I thought I had seen it, but it turns out I hadn’t because I definitely would’ve remembered Ducky’s dance to Otis Redding.

PINK isn’t my favorite Hughes flick by far, but it’s a nice little piece with some great beats; BREAKFAST CLUB will probably always be tops. It doesn’t feel like Hughes went far enough to explore the characters. While he gives his characters heart, he seemed to skim the surface more than in other flicks. Blane alone could’ve used a dose of more character development; as it is he’s more of a cookie-cutter good boy from the right side. The biggest issue with the film is that it almost feels like a sequel to or rehash of SIXTEEN CANDLES, which is the superior film; just replace Jon Cryer with Anthony Michael Hall.

Those issues aside, Ringwald and Cryer are both great; McCarthy was fairly forgettable as the male lead. Ringwald always does vulnerable well, and Cryer turned in one of my favorite scenes of the Eighties with the Otis Redding scene.

It’s unfortunate that Hughes didn’t give the movie room to breathe because it could’ve been higher up in the Hughes filmography; as it is it’s only fair to middlin’.

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