WATCH NOW
Even though “Pretty in Pink” has many Over-the-top scenes, I loved the moments that are quite the opposite, where the boy was building up the confidence to ask the girl out, and both of them were fully aware of what was happening, yet nothing was said or done at all.
Understanding such silence means one has understood the key problem in adolescence: that one’s dreams are so greater than one’s confidence. Indeed, Pretty in Pink is a movie that notes such things, and while it may not be a fantastic movie, there gratefully are some parts in the film that I believe most audiences at some point in their life will think, “yeah, I remember being 16 years old and it was just like that.”
The movie also features Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh. A poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks, Andie lives with her father, who often forgets where he is. Her mother bailed out of her life years ago, and her father, Harry Dean Stanton, is completely unemployed. Andie works in a record store in the downtown mall while somehow managing to put together outfits that scream “I found these in a Goodwill and a fifties store.”
Andie has a crush on a Blane (Andrew McCarthy), who appears to be a rich and entitled snob like most other kids at her high school. However, it seems Blane is far more than just a rich twat and is able to charm his way into Andie’s heart with little to no effort.
Duckie (Jon Cryer) is Andie’s best friend and a teenage boy who tries to win over girls with his attempts at humor. Along with Iona (Annie Potts), a borderline elderly woman who uses Andie to showcase her eccentric hairstyles.
The storyline is both uninspiring and predictable as is the case with The Pretty in Pink. A rich boy and a poor girl are in love with one another. However, the boy’s friends are snobby and the girl does not wish to get exposed to the world as squalid as her background is, but they do manage to get true love somehow. Since the basic truths in this case speak to almost every teenager, I wish it were not the case that the wealthier part of the teenagers would be the only ones benefiting from such a movie.
Different ethnic groups could have been used for the lovers which wouldn’t have been very innovative, but at least it would have spared us from yet another adaptation of age old Horatio Alger novels.
There is one more fundamental flaw with the movie. This one pertains to the character Steff McKee (James Spader) the Blane’s best friend, who happens to be a rich class snob chain smoker. He is an effeminate rich snob who is a chain smoking Blane’s best friend. He is constantly looking down at her, well, even worse, and coming from Andie, there is no way he can go out with such a ‘mutant,’ her snobery is likely to all but wreck the romance.
“Money really means nothing to me. Do you think I would treat my parents house this way if it did?” Steff’s lines do shine in one aspect. However, as portrayed by Spader, he seems to appear badly aged for a teenager and as a result, his scenes are uncomfortable to watch. He gives off the vibes of a 25 year-old with sinister intentions, still roaming the hallways of high school, a ghost of proms past.
I’ve noted those objections. With “Pretty in Pink”, however, they are quite minimal considering it is a mostly heartwarming and largely truthful movie, mixed with a few enjoyable moments of humor. John Hughes writes the movie, who thinks that by repeating the same situation of one of his previous works, he can achieve the same success. In that movie, Ringwald plays a girl who has a crush on a senior and learns to talk to a geek. But Ringwald is turning into the type of an actress who can portray deep sadness and vulnerability without being cringe or overly dramatic. Her scenes with Cryer and Potts are filled with realistic moments of softness.
The most heartwarming revelation in the film, unlike any other, is the character that Potts made. When we first meet her, she’s in a getup with leather boots and chains, but on her next appearance, she sports one of those beehive hairstyles that was in fashion during the early 1960s. She is always changing her “look”, and even though now when she goes for a more conservative style, it seems to be good taste, her choice is the most drastic so far.
I suppose ‘Pretty In Pink’ is a good enough example of why certain age old stories refuse to fade away. We are aware of all the tropes, and are capable of anticipating a third of the changes. However, at the very end comes this gratification when this boy and girl who are clearly meant for each other actually end up together. There is also a strong feeling that Ringwald does in fact have that special sparkle that let her, like the young Elizabeth Taylor, evolve into an actress who would perpetually be able to capture and shatter the hearts of young boys.
To watch more movies like (Pretty in Pink (1986)) visit 123Movies.
Also Watch for more movies like:
