You're ashamed to go out with me. Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) is different to most kids at school. Being solely raised by her unemployed father, Jack (Harry Dean Stanton), and dressing in hand made clothes, she's very much from the wrong side of the tracks. It's tough in school as Andie and her pals are looked down on by the more wealthy students who make up the majority of the student body. With the prom on the horizon, Andie is feeling a little more bluer than normal, but hope comes in the form of Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy), a so called rich kid, who in spite of peer pressure asks Andie to the prom. This is something that alienates Andie and Blane from their so called friends. As it turned out, "Pretty In Pink" was another in the line of John Hughes films that really hit the mark with the teenagers of the time. In fact it's fair to say it impacted with almost everyone who had suffered a less than straight forward climb through some angsty teenage years. It's not a perfect piece by any stretch of the imagination, for at times it's twee and at others a little trite, it is nevertheless a finely crafted piece that deals with teen perils and the ugliness of class division. Unfortunately the class divide is something that rarely gets associated with the pic, because focus tends to be drawn to the love story at its heart. Which is a shame, because although audience expectation will undoubtedly be met in that department, Hughes has plotted it nicely to make a valid point. There is also the real notable thread of the single parent here, where the single parent is a man and a man who is unable to break free of the escalating distress caused by the break up of his marriage to Andie's mother. The two best serious scenes in the film both involve the father/daughter axis, where both Ringwald and H.D. Stanton are simply terrific. Comedy relief comes in the form of Andie's best pals, Duckie (Jon Cryer our hero) and Iona (Annie Potts), with both characters neatly inserted into the structure of the piece. While the direction from Howard Deutch is careful and brings about reality based performances from the predominantly youthful cast. Containing a kicking 1980s soundtrack from the likes of "New Order", "Echo And The Bunnymen", "Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark" and "The Psychedelic Furs", "Pretty In Pink" is a special movie on the CV of John Hughes. It will not be special to all comers, but for many, myself included, it strikes a mighty chord, one that was first heard back in the 1980's and for sure can still be heard today. 8/10
Enjoyable enough teen rom-com from writer John Hughes, though, and this only after my first viewing, not a favorite of mine of his. Still, for the most part I liked the core cast and thought it had its moments. However, this is near the bottom of John Hughes' brilliant career in the 1980s. **3.5/5**
The opening bars of the Psychedelic Furs' song are probably all that really lingers in the memory from this teenage romance; that and the cracking rendition of "Try a Little Tenderness" by the star of the film Jon Cryer's lovelorn "Duckie". The thrust of the plot revolves around the eccentric outsider "Andie" (Molly Ringwald) and her burgeoning romance with posh boy "Blane" (Andrew McCarthy) much to the chagrin of his odious pal "Steff" (James Spader). Now the latter man tried it on with her, but was given short shrift and so is now pretty disdainful of her to the rather drippy and spineless "Blane". Will they manage to get it all sorted out before prom (where we hear what has to be the 24" version of OMD's "If You Leave" accompanied by some dancing that, well, just doesn't work!)? Cryer steals the film really, and along with the soundtrack of predominately British hits from the 1980s helps to deliver an amiable degree of nostalgia. It's still worth a watch, but it really has lost much of it's lustre now and shows just how little actual acting talent was around at the time - very much style and songs over substance
On her wedding day, all that stands between a young woman and marital bliss with her soon-to-be husband is surviving the chaos and expectations of family and friends, each intensifying her spiraling panic.
Oliver, former European champion in the decathlon, came out after the end of his sporting career and divorced his wife Carolin. Since then he has had little connection to his 15-year-old daughter Alma. Oliver now lives in Hamburg with Felix, the owner of an outdoor shop. When Oliver's ex-wife dies after a car accident, Alma moves in with them at the request of her aunt Franziska. Full of mistrust of her homosexual father, the traumatized girl tries to initiate conflicts between Oliver and Felix and to break them up. Alma's friend Johannes also has reservations about gays. His family provides Alma with emotional support. Because Felix also shows a lot of understanding for Alma's needs, Oliver gets caught between the fronts.
A female attorney learns that her husband is really a marine officer awol for fifteen years and accused of murdering fifteen civilians in El Salvador. Believing her husband when he tells her that he's being framed as part of a U.S. Military cover-up, the attorney defends him in a military court.
Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.
Cristina is a rich, spoiled princess visiting Rome with her royal parents. The mission of their visit is to marry her off to a super-wealthy corporate type and thereby start to turn around the losses their small kingdom is experiencing in its casino business. These less-than-noble intentions get derailed when Barnaba, a zany bus driver enters their lives and falls madly in love with the gorgeous Cristina. He is nuts enough to succeed in this romantic chase after royalty, as love seems to fuel his determination to rid Cristina of her elitism and to make her see his own irrepressible attractions.
An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with inattentive parents and bullies at school.
When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.
Shep Ramsey is an interstellar hero, righting wrongs, etc. His ship is damaged after a fight with an interstellar nasty and he must hide out on Earth until it can recharge. He leaves his power suit at home, but still finds himself unable to allow wrongs to go unrighted and so mixes it up with bad drivers, offensive paperboys, muggers and the like.
At a prestigious all-male university, three friends seek love outside of the school grounds; at the same time, a newly-hired music teacher seeks to befriend and loosen up the militantly strict headmaster.
The director's grandfather is a blind fortune teller and his father a real-estate owner. They have grievances against each other for dismantling the old house. Grandfather thinks it's time for him to leave and asks Father to quit his job. At the same time, an accident happens at Father's construction site. They are entangled in dealing with the hatred from the past and the kinship that has always existed.