Thursday, February 9, 2012

I miss John Hughes

The other night I stumbled across a documentary on the Biography Channel on John Hughes and the making of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. It was pure bliss.

I've actually been thinking a lot about my relationship with John for a while now... actually, I've been thinking a lot about my infatuation with the eighties, and after watching this special on Ferris, and psycho-analyzing my movie and music collections, I think that it all may come down to John Hughes.

I mean, there were other great parts of the eighties too... Yaz, Depeche Mode, The Go Go's, Back to the Future, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Say Anything, Stand By Me, Xanadu, U2, The Cure, The Clash, Pee Wee Herman, the Cabbage Patch, the Hearthrob board game--I listened to my Blondie CD so much it wore out and had to buy another one... but it's John Hughes' that holds my eighties heart in his hands.

Let's face it though-- I'm a little too young for the eighties. I was a teenager in the throws of the nineties: the era of grunge. And while I rocked the straight-hair-forever-in-flannel look and saw Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins in their hey-days, I was secretly hoping that Echo and the Bunneymen would go on a reunion tour.

I'm sure a lot of my "eighties thing" can be attributed to my aunts. Lara and Lisa taught me everything I needed to know about big hair and big hair bands. My parents saw Ferris Bueller several times in the theater when I was a kid, but didn't really appreciate Hughes' stuff until I was a teenager myself. There is just something about those movies that totally get me... so much so, that my sisters even threw me the greatest John Hughes movie themed 30th birthday ever.



Sixteen Candles: Oh, Jake Ryan! You can drive me anywhere in that sweet sweater vest of yours. And I'm pretty sure this features some of John Cusack's first work ever.



Ferris Bueller's Day Off: This is a Lee family favorite and in my opinion, Hughes' best film. It's timeless and funny and thoughtful all at once. It has great dialogue and too many perfect movie moments to count.




Some Kind of Wonderful: I just love that Watts gets the guy in the end of this one. Also their kissing scene in the mechanics shop still makes me sweat and swoon.



The Breakfast Club: Maybe his most serious content and oh, so good. A great one for breaking down the lame social barriers of high school. Killer last song, too.



Pretty in Pink: My favorite. Not sure exactly why, but this one was always the one I went back to and watched again and again. This movie may also be the reason I dated Blaine in the first place. Plus, the soundtrack is amazing. I think my favorite moment of this movie is Duckie Dale's lip sync scene in the record shop. Oh, man. I should watch this movie soon. It's been a while.

There are other greats too, Mr. Mom, She's Having a Baby, the Vacation movies, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck... the list goes on and on.

The man was a genius.



6 comments:

courtneykearns said...

i am beyond far too young to even wish i was a child of the eighties... but i find myself doing just that about every day. fat chance, courtney. but still, ferris bueller's day off is my absolute favorite movie. and i have maybe watched it twice this week. should i be admitting that? maybe not. in other news, i watched all of the special features on my brand new shiny ferris dvd. the behind the scenes stuff is too good for words. i dare you to check it out if you haven't already. you'll drool.

dxeechick said...

love it and love you. for a 90's chick, you're the coolest 80's chick i know

Scott and Megan said...

you bday party was priceless!!!

Candice said...

Great tribute. I watched a THS on John Candy this week and they talked about the relationship he had with Hughes - then with the Ferris Super Bowl commercial... he's been on my mind as well. What a talent.

LEE BIEN said...

Gosh, who couldn't love Ferris Bueller? Danke Schoen! And do you remember how I used to make you kids close your eyes during the strip club scene in Mr. Mom? The Breakfast Club was under-rated and oh, so awesome. How about how everyone seemed to be able to relate to the main characters in Pretty in Pink? Good stuff then, Good stuff now.

Laurel said...

This morning I heard "I Love to Hate You" on the radio and have been singing it ever since.

I love the 80s.

I love 80s movies.