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Pretty In Pink @ 40: Ten Things You Didn’t Know About The John Hughes Classic

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Probably John Hughes’s most fondly-remembered teen-rom-com and a defining movie of the 1980s, ‘Pretty In Pink’ was released worldwide on 28 February 1986 and quickly made a sweet $40 million from a $9 million budget.

A timeless tale about a young woman from (literally) the wrong side of the tracks falling for a ‘richie’, it’s endlessly rewatchable and arguably the best-written of Hughes’ movies, even it lacks the visual pizzazz of his directorial work.

Its memorable characters and touching themes reverberate through the years – this is the one that put Molly Ringwald on the cover of ‘Time’ magazine, even if its plot is very similar to ‘Sixteen Candles’. It also features an excellent theme song by the Psychedelic Furs and engagingly off-beat performances.

But what were the what-ifs, weird studio notes and strange/risky decisions that accompanied the making of ‘Pretty In Pink’?

10. It was Howard Deutch’s directorial debut
But he had made his name cutting trailers for Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, Sydney Pollack and Francis Coppola movies, as well as Hughes’ ‘Sixteen Candles’ and ‘The Breakfast Club’. He also directed videos for Stewart Copeland (‘Don’t Box Me In’) and Billys Idol and Joel. He was headhunted by Hughes and mentored throughout. He went on to direct ‘Some Kind Of Wonderful’ from another Hughes script.

9. Molly Ringwald almost didn’t play Andie Walsh
Though Hughes wrote the part with Ringwald in mind (and she had suggested to him both the theme song and title), Paramount wanted Jennifer Beals after she had fronted the enormously successful ‘Flashdance’. Tatum O’Neil and Jodie Foster were reportedly also considered. Hughes fought hard for Ringwald, though she almost turned it down because he wasn’t directing it. As it turned out, she almost played herself in the movie – her mother even features in the photograph which makes her cry.

8. Andrew McCarthy only read the completed script whilst on the plane to start shooting
He auditioned with Ringwald with excerpts of the script. She got him the part – neither Deutch nor Hughes were sure, wondering if Charlie Sheen would be better. Later, when reading the whole thing on his flight to Los Angeles, he reportedly hated the script (there are also reports that Ringwald had an unrequited crush on McCarthy throughout the shoot).

7. McCarthy was 22 years old during filming – playing a 17-year-old – and was having major problems with alcohol
He has admitted being wretchedly hungover during the first record store meeting with Molly Ringwald’s character. In this podcast, McCarthy even goes as far as to say that alcohol ruined his acting career in the late ‘80s.

6. The part of Phil ‘Duckie’ Dale was written for Anthony Michael Hall
But the ‘Breakfast Club’, ‘Sixteen Candles’ and ‘Weird Science’ star turned it down, saying that the plot of the movie was too close to ‘Sixteen Candles’. Robert Downey Jr. and Michael J Fox were also close to getting the part. Jon Cryer got the gig – interestingly he had also recently replaced Matthew Broderick in stage productions of both ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ and ‘Torch Song Trilogy’.

5. James Spader was 25 years old during filming – playing a 17-year-old
A very experienced performer before shooting ‘Pretty In Pink’, Spader apparently amazed Hughes and Deutch at his audition with an incredibly obnoxious performance, oozing attitude and stubbing out his cigarette with his foot as he left the room.

4. Duckie’s famous ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ lip-sync nearly didn’t happen
Hughes had written the scene into the script but hadn’t stipulated which track to use. Firstly, Cryer wanted to lip-sync to Michael Jackson/Mick Jagger’s ‘State Of Shock’, but the song was too expensive. The Otis Redding tune was Deutch’s idea. Kenny Ortega choreographed the scene with Cryer.

3. ‘Pretty In Pink’ was the last collaboration between Molly Ringwald and John Hughes
Sadly it seems Hughes never quite forgave Ringwald for refusing to appear in ‘Some Kind Of Wonderful’…and they seldom spoke again before Hughes’ death in 2009.

2. The ending was reshot months after the original wrap – check out Andrew McCarthy’s wig…
The ending was originally supposed to feature Duckie and Andie dancing ecstatically at the prom to Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ in an ‘us against the world’ kind of way, and sticking it to the richies – let’s face it, that sounds fantastic. But a preview audience hated this ending, as did Ringwald. A rethink/reshoot was ordered. Hughes racked his brain for months, trying to work out how Andie could get together with Blaine at the prom. Finally he worked it out – Blaine arrives alone, just like Andie and Duckie. So Ringwald, Cryer and McCarthy were summoned for a one-day reshoot. Only problem was McCarthy was appearing on Broadway in ‘Boys Of Winter’ opposite Matt Dillon and Wesley Snipes and had had his head shaved for the part. So a really terrible wig was found for him. But the now-famous, reshot ending speaks volumes about Hughes’s quality as a screenwriter – both endings would have worked great. OMD’s ‘If You Leave’ was also summoned to soundtrack the finale in just three days, including writing/mixing/recording…

1. Fee Waybill of The Tubes presented the premiere on MTV…
It took place at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood on 28 January 1986, also attended by Hughes, a very drunk Spader and McCarthy (check out the footage), Cryer, Jon Anderson, Dweezil Zappa, Michael J Fox, Andy Summers, New Order, OMD, George Michael and the Psychedelic Furs.

Further reading: the excellent ‘You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried’ by Susannah Gora

The Cult Movie Club: O.C. And Stiggs (1987)

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It’s an interesting pitch: Robert Altman, director of ‘The Long Goodbye’, ‘Nashville’ and ‘M*A*S*H’, does a 1980s teen movie.

And, true to form, ‘O.C. And Stiggs’ ended up as a fascinating, completely unpredictable viewing experience. It’s the ‘1941’ of teenage films.

But it was also one of the great filmmaker’s biggest flops, not helped by the fact that it inexplicably received an ‘R’ rating.

Remarkably, it was the only movie Altman made for a major studio between ‘Popeye’ in 1980 and ‘The Player’ in 1992.

Based on a series of National Lampoon magazine stories and financed by MGM, it was shot in summer 1983 (predating the first John Hughes-directed movie by almost a year) but didn’t creep out until 1987.

Presumably MGM were looking for something like ‘Porky’s’ or ‘Fast Times At Ridgemont High’, but what they got was pure Altman. In fact the film feels very much part of the 1970s rather than 1980s.

He only devotes one short paragraph to the film in the book ‘Altman On Altman’: ‘I agreed to do it because I hated teenage movies so much. I thought I’d do it as a satire of teenage movies.’

Set in Phoenix, Arizona, it concerns a couple of unhappy, smart-ass teens nicely played by Daniel Jenkins and Neill Barry who declare war on the family of finance magnate Randall Schwab for cancelling the old-age insurance of OC’s grandfather.

Inexplicably, both kids are also obsessed by the music of Nigerian bandleader/multi-instrumentalist King Sunny Ade, so we get an excellent soundtrack, a nice bit of concert footage in the style of ‘Nashville’, and a cameo from the man himself.

But mainly the movie is a pretty cutting satire of a suburban America mainly populated by Vietnam vets, self-obsessed parents, clueless teenagers and winos. And, being an Altman film, there’s also a myriad of interesting, funny details which most of the contemporary critics completely missed.

Dennis Hopper – during his full-on booze blow-out era – reprises his ‘Apocalypse Now’ role, complete with his own theme song parodying Doors’ ‘The End’ (later there’s even a silly ‘Ride Of The Valkyries’ spoof).

Other interesting cameos include Jon ‘Pretty In Pink’ Cryer making his film debut, ‘Saturday Night Live’ veteran Jane Curtin, Alan Autry reprising his role from Walter Hill’s ‘Southern Comfort’ while a teenage Cynthia ‘Sex And The City’ Dixon gets a song and dance routine. Melvin Van Peebles and Martin Mull show up too.

According to Cryer, the film was mainly improvised, with Altman encouraging long takes and free movement from the actors. It’s a joy to look at, with those beautiful, wide-angle shots a la ‘3 Women’ and ‘Nashville’, and lively, colourful production design.

A YouTube comment claims that it’s the worst movie of all time. No way. It’s not even the worst Altman movie – surely that must be ‘The Room’.

Still, obviously ‘O.C. And Stiggs’ is not the first Altman film to watch if you’re not already aware of his stuff. But if you love ‘The Player’, ‘Short Cuts’, ‘Nashville’ or ‘The Long Goodbye’, it’s well worth a look.

It’s currently available to watch for free on YouTube in very high quality.