Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles (1984)
Starring: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, and Justin Henry
Written and Directed by: John Hughes
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Grade: A+

This is one of the many classic 80's movies that I love. And, I swear, the best ones have Molly Ringwald. Probably because John Hughes put her in all of his movies and his movies are the best...anyway. This movie is about Samantha (Ringwald), who just turned 16. And although she's not popular and the boy she loves doesn't love her back, she has a feeling that this birthday is going to change everything. It starts out on a horrible note, however, when her entire family forgets her birthday. Her day gets worse at school when she fills out a test about who she has a crush on and the boy she answered accidentally gets it. When the question asked who she liked, she didn't even think about answering Jake Ryan (Henry), the most popular guy in school and totally out of Sam's league. But what she doesn't know is that he secretly likes her, too. He hasn't talked to her because he figured she doesn't like him. But after he sees the test, he thinks it might be possible. On the bus ride home, her birthday, yet again, gets even worse when Sam is ambushed by Farmer Ted (Hall), also known as "The Geek", who is in love with her. After she blows him off, she heads home, after which many things happen, including having to hang out with a weird foreign exchange student, going to the school dance, and, just maybe, getting the guy. Also look out for both Cusack siblings (John as a friend of Farmer Ted's and Joan as a geeky girl), both of whom are extremely young in this film.

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club (1985)
Starring: Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, and Judd Nelson
Written and Directed by: John Hughes
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Grade: A++

This is not only one of my favorite 80's movies but one of my favorite movies period. The interaction between the cast (which also includes Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall) is brilliant and John Hughes's direction is spot on, as always. The movie is the story about five kids from completely different cliques all thrust together for one day of Saturday detention. There's Andrew (Estevez), the jock, Claire (Ringwald), the princess, Bender (Nelson), the criminal, Allison (Sheedy), the basket case, and Brian (Hall), the brain. As they spend the day getting to know each other (reluctantly in some cases), they realize that what they thought about each other was completely wrong. There is not a lot of "action" in this movie. The real prize (and why it is highly regarded as the epitome of films about teenagers) is the clever dialogue and the way the actors deliver it and portray how truly hard it is to be a teenager in high school.

Some Kind of Wonderful

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Starring: Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Lea Thompson
Directed by: Howard Deutch
Written by: John Hughes
Tagline: Before they could stand together, they had to stand alone.
Grade: A+

Don't let the stupid tagline (or the fact that it's not a very well known movie) fool you. This film isn't as famous as John Hughes's other teenage masterpieces (such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Pretty in Pink) but it's still great. It's kind of Pretty in Pink, but the main character is a boy instead of a girl...and he ends up with his best friend instead of the popular person. This film is how Pretty in Pink would have ended if the studio hadn't intervened. Keith Nelson (Stoltz) is a "grease monkey" and very unpopular in school. That changes, however, when the most popular girl in school, Amanda Jones (Thompson), agrees to go out with him. What he doesn't know is that his best friend, Watts (Masterson), is in love with him. Okay, it's pretty much Pretty in Pink, but Hughes (my all time favorite filmaker) had a good reason! Still, this is a great chick-flick...I even watched it twice in one week...it's that good.

Movie Review: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Starring: Matthew Broderick and Alan Ruck
Chracters: Ferris Bueller and Cameron Frye
Directed by: John Hughes
Tagline: While the rest of us were just thinking about it...Ferris borrowed a Ferrari and did it...all in a day.
Grade: A+

I love 80's movies...they're all awesome, but the best of the best are John Hughes films. He was one of the best directors of teen movies. It was like he truly understood what hard things went on in teen lives. He didn't just portray them as stupid, flighty girls or cocky guys...he actually gave them personalities...awesome ones at that. Between The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and this movie, there are some of the best characters in any movie...ever. And they're all teenagers...which is a major score for us. This great movie is about a teen called Ferris, who is an expert at ditching school. It's a perfect day outside, so he decides to ditch another day of school (this makes his ninth "sick"day). So, he decides to make this one count. He calls his friend Cameron, who's always sick, and they get Ferris' girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) out of school. Then they go on a spree across the city in Cameron's dad's Ferrari. They even get in a parade. Ferris is the coolest, most smooth talking person ever. And John Hughes did a really cool thing where he had Ferris talk to the camera, as if telling advice to the people watching. Overall, a really fun, really cool 80's teen movie from the master himself.
-MOT

Just finished: The Terminator
Watching now: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Excited to see: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief