John Hughes, the man who revolutionized teen cinema in the 1980s passed away of a heart attack this morning in New York City while on a walk. His movies Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful and The Breakfast Club not only keyed in on the teenage audience for film, but also made stars of a younger generation of actors - including Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwold, Matthew Broderick and other members of 80s Hollywood's 'brat pack.'
Also in Hughes' cabinet of wonders are the Vacation movies, the Beethoven movies as well as the Home Alone movies. As someone whose movie-going experience began in the 1980s, I gotta say that for me and my friends, a new John Hughes film was an event. We knew it would speak to us, make us laugh, and make us think. One of my favorites was She's Having a Baby, which was not only written and directed by Hughes, but was also an inspiration to me as a writer.
John Hughes will be missed.
Well said.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite has always been Weird Science which was so mega-hyped by the movie studio (at the time) that it was destined to be a disappointment (financially) at the box office in the summer of 1985.
But at least it went on to be a minor cult classic and a silly TV series in the 90's on Fox (I think).
It's sad to believe someone who was as influential at the time (and was only 10 years older than me) is gone.
Weird Science is definitely an underrated classic. It shows the range of Anthony Michael Hall and I also remember the party at the end with the apocalyptic bikers as being a highlight.
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