Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club

Pretty in Pink was on some random cable channel yesterday, and once again I was angry at how hideous Andie's dress was at the end, which was supposed to be a Cinderella moment.

I was born in the early 1980s and have a nostalgia for the decade, even though I remember little of it.

I guess I miss what I imagine it had been.

It doesn’t feel like high school was just yesterday but it definitely doesn’t feel like Empire Records was released 26 years ago.

[quote] it definitely doesn’t feel like Empire Records was released 26 years ago

What's an Empire Records?

Pretty in pink was supposed to end differently.

there's no putting it in the past when there's been revival every bloody year... and the continuation of even more ignorant generations than the one before unable to differentiate from five minutes ago and hundred years ago, always believing they're the first rebels without a clue

[quote]Those movies still have a modern feel to them, and it must be weird that Gen X'ers are now becoming grandparents.

I would laugh at this but I recently noticed that AARP is running ads about "eighties slang" and well, Gag me with a spoon!

I'm with you, R1.

That dress was SO fucking ugly.

Pink polka dots???

Andie's personal style throughout the movie was funky and chic. She was always impeccably dressed.

And then she wears THIS to the prom?

Even Duckie looked more stylish than she did.

Somebody fucked up big time.

As a Brit, The Breakfast Club always seemed like a weird fantasy. A detention on a Saturday? Wtf?

This look actually would have been pretty decent...

Just to go back for a few days to relive it all again.... 1980's was the jam!

that song was definitely the jam

Andrew McCarthy is going to be 60 next year!

R5 Personally, I felt if Andi ended up with anyone, it should have been Steff. James Spader was woefully underutilized.

[quote]As a Brit, The Breakfast Club always seemed like a weird fantasy. A detention on a Saturday? Wtf?

Degrassi TNG did a Breakfast Club themed episode

[quote]if Andi ended up with anyone, it should have been Steff. James Spader was woefully underutilized.

I agree R7.

Did anyone ever catch this movie in 2017?

[quote] Brat Pack Legacy! Molly Ringwald Will Play the Mom of Andrew McCarthy's Son in New Movie

Andrew McCarthy‘s son is following in his father’s footsteps — down to the costars!

During a recent appearance on The MOMS, McCarthy revealed that his 15-year-old son, Sam, will appear in an upcoming movie alongside a fellow Brat Packer.

“My son is doing his first movie now, and his screen mom is of course Molly Ringwald!” McCarthy told hosts Denise Albert and Melissa Gerstein.

“He just auditioned for this movie and he was hired and it turned out that his mother was going to be Molly Ringwald!” McCarthy’s rep tells PEOPLE that the movie is called All These Small Moments.

McCarthy, 54, starred alongside 49-year-old Ringwald in popular ’80s movies like Pretty in Pink and Fresh Horses. The actor said he got an email from his old pal Ringwald when she and his son began working together.

“She emailed me on the first day and she said, ‘Your son just did a scene and when he walked away, it was just like watching you walk away from me 30 years ago,’ ” he recalled.

McCarthy was just 23 and Ringwald 18 when they played high school love birds in the popular 1986 movie. Fans of the cult classic fawned over Andie’s (Ringwald) unique style and Duckie’s (Jon Cryer‘s) unrequited love for the leading lady as she fell for cool guy Blane (McCarthy).

Ringwald and McCarthy were just two years older when Fresh Horses hit theaters. The two again played teen love birds. Now, it’s his son’s turn to act alongside the Brat Pack alum.

Sam isn’t the only one to catch the acting bug in McCarthy’s family, though. His 10-year-old daughter, Willow, made her professional debut in Matilda the Musical.

“God help me!” he told The MOMS hosts. “Both my children decide they want to be actors.”

McCarthy is also father to 3-year-old Rowan.

I always assumed that Jon Cryer was gay, based on PIP.

There was just no possibility he was straight. Either in character, or in real life.

But I guess he is.

Even though Jon looks different now, I still think he looks handsome.

Saturday detention then and now served a purpose, to force students to give up part of their valuable (and much prized) weekend time.

Pulling a student out of one or multiple classes to sit in detention hall not only causes them to miss work, but gets them out of a class or classes. That may be part of their MO in first place. Keeping students after school can also be an issue because they do have to get home. Three hour detention after school would see kids leaving at 6PM or later. Even for high school kids many parents would hit the roof.

I read an interview with Molly Ringwald a few years ago, which I think was primarily about her (very good) translation of Lie to Me, but Pretty in Pink came up. She stated that she'd always assumed Ducky was gay.

[quote]I always assumed that Jon Cryer was gay, based on PIP.

So did I.

Thanks for sharing, R19.

James Spader's character in that film, a high school student? He looked at least thirty-five, never carried books, and lounged around smoking. I liked PIP anyway, and enjoyed in particular the kooky woman who owned the record store. Andrew MCcarthy seemed to have a case of Visine eyes throughout the entire movie. I always thought the subplot should involve his secret drug habit. Sad I remember this with such clarity.

Molly hanging with her real friends

I must say I love that pink wig R23.

Andie made that prom dress from a mixture of materials, including her friend Iona's polka dot dress.

Born in 1976. I was a kid throughout the '80s but I vividly remember it fondly and very well. I was probably too young to watch the R-rated ones, but I saw them anyway, and the Hughes films were among some of my favorite. I own all the Molly ones and Some Kind of Wonderful (which was a gender-switch version of PIP) on DVD.

[quote] I liked PIP anyway, and enjoyed in particular the kooky woman who owned the record store

How do you not know Annie Potts????

From "Designing Women?"

Omg.

R14

James Spader was so good-looking.

R7 like totally!

Lol at R7 and R29.

I have a supervisor and her secretary who are also both class of 1987.

And I had to endure last Thursday afternoon listening to them both talk about menopause and hot flashes!!!

It was torture!

They looked at me and laughed, then stopped talking about it because they could see I was flustered.

Yes R28! I remember seeing him in a TV movie with Robert Mitchum and even at my young age I thought he was sex on a stick.

As much as I loved PIP when I was younger, now I find it a bit of a disappointment. That fucking dress! Plus Blaine being strung out and wearing a hair piece... and Andi being exhausting.

Looking back, I think The Breakfast Club is the stronger film and Pretty In Pink had the better soundtrack.

[quote] Looking back, I think The Breakfast Club is the stronger film and Pretty In Pink had the better soundtrack.

PIP had better clothing and style, though.

Also, how cute was Dweezil Zappa as Simon?

I had no idea that Molly and Dweezil were dating.

They looked cute together.

R32 I agree, the overall styling was better in Pretty in Pink (as it should since TBC occurs over the course of a few hours vs PIP a few weeks) but Molly Ringwald looked better in The Breakfast Club.

Dweezil was cute though.

The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink can’t hold a candle to the under appreciated movie, The Sure Thing, starring Daphne Zuniga and Jon Cusack.

Duly reminded, R27. I liked her in Ghostbusters, too.

What WAS that song about?

I remember when the first three grades of my small Southern grammar school was segregated. Why this thread made me think of that, I have no reason.

[quote]the overall styling was better in Pretty in Pink (as it should since TBC occurs over the course of a few hours vs PIP a few weeks) but Molly Ringwald looked better in The Breakfast Club

Molly was the perfect 1980s popular bitch who didn't realize she was a popular bitch in that movie. Nothing else holds a candle to that performance even though she was also perfectly believable as the quirky outlier in PIP.

R18 Jon Cryer always says in interviews that people assume he is both 1) gay and 2) Jewish. I’m not sure which one I’m more surprised to believe he isn’t.

I’ve grown to become a fan of his, though. I couldn’t stand him when I was growing up.

R39 I agree with your take on Molly's TBC performance.

They don't feel modern at all.

[quote]Jon Cryer always says in interviews that people assume he is both 1) gay and 2) Jewish. I’m not sure which one I’m more surprised to believe he isn’t.

Funny.

Despite not seeing him in very much I’ve become a fan of his too, I even like his ridiculous teen movies.

Emilio Esteves in TBC is super hot.

High school doesn’t seem like yesterday. My 20th reunion 15 years ago sure does.

So this year is your 35th reunion, R45?

DAMN!

This fall.

Molly was perfect in 16 Candles but besides that I didn't care for her.

The Breakfast Club was good. Neither of these films are modern though. Both very 80s and very much of a white suburban world. But doesn't make them any less enjoyable.

Sixteen Candles was the first movie where I really felt seen, saw it in the theater in high school. I know there is problematic parts to it now that are un PC but it has my heart. Also that's the only time I liked Molly Ringwald.

I recently saw Pretty In Pink think that if Andie chose Duckie, he would be decried as being the “but I’m a NICE GUY!” guy who keeps hanging around Andie even though she’s not sexually attracted to him throughout the film.

I always though Molly Ringwald is ugly, anyway.

Yep...and fuck you.

[quote] I always though Molly Ringwald is ugly, anyway.

I agree. She's very average and nothing special. I found it hard to buy her as the most popular girl in school in The Breakfast Club. She looked like more like the nice homely girl who would be reasonably liked but not the most popular nor a stuck-up diva type. Amanda Peterson in Can't Buy Me Love, Kim Walker in Heathers and Kelly Preston in Secret Admirer were more far believable as the hot stuck-up popular girls.

What year did Gen X start?

r54 1965 most of the Brat Pack are actually Boomers

Molly Ringwald was perfectly cast in 16 Candles because she was awkward. I think John Hughes had a thing for her and had a case of arrested development. I laugh to see the pics of him with a mullet with those dorky big glasses.

I agree r53, I was a senior when Breakfast Club came out and I could have walked through my school hallways and seen dozens of girls who were better looking than Molly and it took me out of the movie.

Molly Ringwald was far from ugly. Her pouty lips, iconic short red hair, alabaster skin and pensive brown eyes made her an anomaly in a sea of hot blonde babes of the day that you could see at any mall in any major American city.

r58 maybe adults appreciated her looks but any teen guys I know did not find her attractive

Claire isn't supposed to be the most beautiful, hottest girl. She's just rich and popular. We had plenty of average looking rich and popular girls in my high school.

We used to make fun of her Time Magazine cover 'Isn't she sweet?'

Ain't she sweet actually. Anyway, I remember being at a party and holding up their dad's copy of Time and everybody going Noooooooooo

We had a Molly Rinwald in my high school. Not ugly but no raging beauty .However,she dressed in the latest fashion and drove a corvette at 16 .She had a smoking hot boyfriend too. Saw her on FB after many decades and bow wow wow ! Still looked very well off though.

R58 She's still average looking though. I mean she's not ugly but still she really doesn't stick out in a crowd. And Demi Moore and Jennifer Connolly were far more striking in the looks department and they weren't blonde.

I recently rewatched the movie '10 Years' about a high school reunion (has Chris Pratt, Channing Tatum, Oscar Isaacs, etc. in it). The girl who was the hot popular one was homely. I don't get the casting of these movies. Even though the GREASE cast was way too old at least ONJ was very pretty.

R58 Even now I see teenage Molly Ringwald someone totally plain and uninteresting with heavy Teutonic bone structure.

[quote]And Demi Moore and Jennifer Connolly were far more striking in the looks department and they weren't blonde.

Jennifer Connolly was pretty, but in no way was Demi Moore, with her plain-without-makeup trailer park looks and thin lips, prettier than 16 year-old Molly Ringwald.

Personally I would put Gen X a few years before 1965. Quentin Tarantino and Janeane Garofalo, those two quintessential Gen Xers, were born in '63 and '64 respectively.

I agree that Demi is overrated. But I think what helped Demi was her raw sluttiness similar to Madonna. Molly comes across as a boring, churchy girl.

Demi Moore always had a hard white trash look to her. She never would've been convincing in the roles Molly Ringwald played. There was never anything "fresh and innocent" about Moore, she always had that tough "I've been around" thing about her.

[quote]heavy Teutonic bone structure.

What in the fucking hell does this mean, exactly?

[quote]Molly comes across as a boring, churchy girl.

[quote] in no way was Demi Moore, with her plain-without-makeup trailer park looks and thin lips, prettier than 16 year-old Molly Ringwald.

Sure, sure.

Demi Moore was always considered more attractive than Molly. Is John Hughes posting from the grave?

Daphne Zuniga, Lori Loughlin and Ione Skye are also very pretty.

Demi Moore was pretty and sensuous, lantern-jawed Molly Ringwald looked like a dental secretary hoping to land the boss’ son, I guess that’s why she was considered “relatable”.

Demi had striking green eyes, long lush black hair, olive skin and a raspy voice. Had more of a seductive and adventurous tomboy vibe. She didn't come across as a spoiled princess type.

R73 proves the "Demi is average" point. She's practically had an entire body lift since then, and the improvement is nil.

Anything with Molly Ringwald feels like it's from another century

I'm sorry but Demi is above average in looks to me. I don't see a lot of black-haired, green-eyed, statuesque white girls like her. Molly is far more average-looking and see tons of girls that look like Molly on college campuses.

Hey y'all!

Demi in About Last Night was pretty before the plastic surgery

[quote]I don't see a lot of black-haired, green-eyed, statuesque white girls like her

5'5" is statuesque? Isn't Brigette Nielsen, like, 6'2"?

Thank you, OP. This thread is exactly what I needed tonight. Cheers.

Molly was totally right as Claire. Not the prettiest, of course. But as a rich, pampered princess in a big suburban high school? She was Claire. The monied kids and the beautiful kids often run together.

That bitch better have said hello to Brian in the hallways whenever she saw him

R86 yes!

Molly was also perfect as Samantha. Though she was a bit of a borderline bitch in that movie. Anyway, in that film she wasn’t supposed to be a raving beauty. She was cute though, but with a bad haircut. I remember a thread here about Sixteen Candles and a poster kept going on and on about how unrealistic it was that Jake would fall for her. It was annoying, but also funny as hell because they took it so seriously.

I guess she was sort of the 80s version of Kristin Stewart.

^No, that was Mary Stuart Masterson.

Stewart is a dead ringer for her in At Close Range.

Molly was an everygirl type. Not pretty nor stood out too much. Easy for the female audience to identify with. Not aspirational or perfect looking. Yet had hot guys going after her. Total wish fulfillment. That's why she is similar to Kristen Stewart. Kristen even got cast as Snow White in a movie.

Kristen Stewart reads as really dykey and has a sullen, unpleasant demeanor. You can't compare her to Molly at all.

It's fiction.

[quote]I guess she was sort of the 80s version of Kristin Stewart.

No, Kristin Stewart would be the millennial version of Molly Ringwald, but such is not the case. Molly didn't have the sullen, dykey appeal.

Shailene Woodley was the late Millenial/early Gen Z answer to Molly Ringwald. Apart from starring in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, she was even in a string of popular teen movies in the 2010s. She paired with some really hot guys. Molly even played her mother in TSLOAT.

Molly was the most beautifil girl on The Facts of Life.

That PIP prom dress really needed a Carrie ending.

I knew Molly when we were kids in the 70s. She was a stuckup little suburban brat.

I had boy toy/Desperately Seeking Susan era Madonna posters on my wall I don't know anyone who admired Molly Ringwald

^MARY!

Did anyone actually see Fresh Horses? I never did? Weren't they trying to branch Molly out from the rest of the Brat Pack? if you did see it, was it any good? What was it about?

10 years later, I ended up working at the Stardust, darlin'

[quote]Did anyone actually see Fresh Horses? I never did? Weren't they trying to branch Molly out from the rest of the Brat Pack? if you did see it, was it any good? What was it about?

I've seen it several times, the first time being back in the '80s. It's like a darker version of PIP. Molly still plays the girl from the wrong side of the tracks to Andrew's rich WASP, but this time she's 16 and he's a college student engaged to a wealthy young woman. It flopped at the box office, but I like the moody atmosphere of it. Molly's character, an mysterious country girl named Jewel, meets Andrew's character Matt the morning after a raucous party he attended with some buddies at an old country house. He falls head over heels for her and ends up breaking it off with his fiance, but later finds out that Jewel holds some dark secrets. The cast includes a young Ben Stiller and a creepy turn by Viggo Mortensen as a man who is involved with Jewel. The film was based on an Off-Broadway play that starred Craig Sheffer and Suzy Amis.

[quote] Molly was also perfect as Samantha. Though she was a bit of a borderline bitch in that movie. Anyway, in that film she wasn’t supposed to be a raving beauty. She was cute though, but with a bad haircut. I remember a thread here about Sixteen Candles and a poster kept going on and on about how unrealistic it was that Jake would fall for her. It was annoying, but also funny as hell because they took it so seriously.

A more realistic interpretation is that Jake didn't fall for Sam. They have nothing in common at all, Jake is a misogynist and Sam is shallow and only likes Jake for his looks. What it really was is Jake just really wanted to bang her because he was bored with his slutty blonde girlfriend who could easily dump him for any other stud (and she does but for Anthony Michael Hall). Sam is implied to be unpopular, a virgin and she's obsessed with Jake. So she was perfect for Jake's ego boost, he would pop her cherry and then would dump her once he graduates and went off to college. Sam would get over and learn her lesson to not chase after douchey guys for their looks alone and she would find an eccentric hipster dude who shares her interests.

Remember Molly in the TV movie "Something to Live For: The Alison Gertz Story"?

John Hughes was such a mega dork lol. He clearly fantasized about being part of the rich and beautiful in-crowd in high school. His high school films were almost like him trying to make his teenage wishes fulfilled. He had a creepy crush on Molly Ringwald (who was underage btw) and tried to put her in all of his films. Weird Science was also his clearly his fantasy.

Hughes supposedly wanted Molly to play Amanda in Some Kind of Wonderful, but she turned the role down and it was a long time before he forgave her.

I'm sure Molly must have realized Hughes had a crush on her and decided to bail on him. She probably felt she could have remained a star without him but ended up with a rude awakening when her post-Hughes films flopped.

I did like the John Hughes movie Uncle Buck, the two little kids were adorable and I usually don't like kids in movies.

I should start a thread on Stephen King, I wonder if he has some hidden kink.

John Hughes is basically the one responsible for Macaulay Culkin's career too. Uncle Buck was Culkin's breakthrough and Home Alone was written for him and he became a big star shortly after. Not that that is bad thing. He was a cute and funny child actor. He grew up odd but given his shitty parents and "friendship" with Michael Jackson that is to expected.

R103, yes, that was the realistic version of the story, but I don’t think that would’ve sold and made it the classic it is. 😂

Looking through Jon Cryer's filmography. It was mostly flops that nobody remembers. He was completely washed up until Two and a Half Men. Charlie Sheen who was his friend, requested Jon to be cast as his brother.

Don’t get the love for John Hughes films. “Breakfast club” was ok I suppose, “sixteen candles” was like a cartoon anc “pretty in pink” was one long cliche, from the girl from the wrong side of the tracks literally. The only John Hughes movie I like is “some kind of wonderful” probably because he didn’t direct that one.

He didn't direct Pretty in Pink either.

One thing I've noticed about Hughes films are the underlying 1950s-style conservatism to them. Not only is there casual racism, homophobia and misogyny but the blatant classism and idealization of materialism and suburban life. Everything goes back to the status quo. I was not shocked to find he was a Reagan supporter.

Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful had great soundtracks, but they were the worst of the Hughes teen films. Even when I was a teen myself there was something musty, dreary and old-fashioned about them. At least 16 Candles, Weird Science and Ferris Bueller had some vulgar energy.

[quote]One thing I've noticed about Hughes films are the underlying 1950s-style conservatism to them. Not only is there casual racism, homophobia and misogyny but the blatant classism and idealization of materialism and suburban life. Everything goes back to the status quo. I was not shocked to find he was a Reagan supporter.

So much of culture in that period was a 50s revival, even if not as blatantly as Back to the Future or Peggy Sue Got Married.

Conservatism runs deep through 80s teen movies. Look at slasher movies.

I think Hughes is much better at comedy. Ferris Bueller, Weird Science and the National Lampoon Vacation series are hilarious. But his version of high school was outdated and far removed from reality for it to work in a serious manner. I agree that The Breakfast Club is a great film but I think that had more to do with the actors and their chemistry because it could easily been a cliche fest and it was but it worked.

I lide,nay,loved all of Hughes movies but 16 Candles is my absolute favorite.

You could say outdated but what he did worked. Nearly every teen and up has seen his films and loved them.

Love those movies. So perfectly 80s.

R120 Of course. I think they're enjoyable films but they are formulaic, rely on stereotypical tropes and reflect Hughes' experience and the values of the 1980s. As for every teen, I actually found Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Dazed & Confused to be more accurate portrayals of my adolescence. Most high schools from my experience are not cliquey with "in-crowds" mostly just bored and nihilistic teenagers who can't wait to get out and just smoke pot, fuck and have fun.

[quote]I actually found Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Dazed & Confused to be more accurate portrayals of my adolescence.

I mean, given that the former was based on Cameron Crowe's real-life experiences going undercover in high school and the latter was made by a guy with something to say instead of a corporate agenda...