For many years, I had seen only a couple of movies with ties to John Hughes (whether he was the writer or writer/director): Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. That meant no Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, or The Breakfast Club for me in the 80s. Of course I knew about those movies, but I wasn't drawn to R-rated movies in general because my parents didn't want me to see them. The R-rated movies I was attracted to were action flicks, not salty-language pics about romantic triangles.
When I really got into movies that were beyond what the multiplexes had (aka, college), I was more into horror flicks and indie movies. I'm talking the Scream franchise (and its ensuing knock-offs), some of the Halloween movies, Good Will Hunting, Swingers and all of Kevin Smith's movies. While I did see Weird Science, I had been told that I must see The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles by many friends. The whole, "You haven't seen it? Awww man, you gotta see it!" came up frequently. And not even a reference to Shermer, Illinois in Dogma made me drop everything and watch those movies.
Well, it only took ten years to get there, but I finally saw Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club this year. And guess what? I didn't hate them, but I thought, If I saw these when I was in high school, I'd completely relate and worship them. I think they're essential to watch when you're in high school/college because the topics are incredibly fresh and timely. But as we age and embrace adulthood, topics like taking somebody to the prom and choosing the right boyfriend don't resonate as much as the central theme of Ferris Bueller's Day Off ("Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and take a look around once in a while, you could miss it.").
I'm not weeping over misspent youth here. I wouldn't change a thing about watching Star Wars, Back to the Future, and Buckaroo Banzai repeatedly as a suburban kid. I find life to be a series of playing catch-up while doing what I want to do. Ah yes, the joys of being stubborn.
When I really got into movies that were beyond what the multiplexes had (aka, college), I was more into horror flicks and indie movies. I'm talking the Scream franchise (and its ensuing knock-offs), some of the Halloween movies, Good Will Hunting, Swingers and all of Kevin Smith's movies. While I did see Weird Science, I had been told that I must see The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles by many friends. The whole, "You haven't seen it? Awww man, you gotta see it!" came up frequently. And not even a reference to Shermer, Illinois in Dogma made me drop everything and watch those movies.
Well, it only took ten years to get there, but I finally saw Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club this year. And guess what? I didn't hate them, but I thought, If I saw these when I was in high school, I'd completely relate and worship them. I think they're essential to watch when you're in high school/college because the topics are incredibly fresh and timely. But as we age and embrace adulthood, topics like taking somebody to the prom and choosing the right boyfriend don't resonate as much as the central theme of Ferris Bueller's Day Off ("Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and take a look around once in a while, you could miss it.").
I'm not weeping over misspent youth here. I wouldn't change a thing about watching Star Wars, Back to the Future, and Buckaroo Banzai repeatedly as a suburban kid. I find life to be a series of playing catch-up while doing what I want to do. Ah yes, the joys of being stubborn.
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