Pretty in Pink

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Pretty in Pink
North American Movie Poster
Directed by	Howard Deutch
Produced by	Lauren Shuler Jane Vickerilla (associate producer) Michael Chinich (executive producer) John Hughes (executive producer)
Written by	John Hughes
Starring	Molly Ringwald Andrew McCarthy Jon Cryer Harry Dean Stanton Annie Potts James Spader
Music by	Michael Gore
Cinematography	Tak Fujimoto
Editing by	Richard Marks
Studio	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	February 28, 1986
Running time	96 min.
Country	USA
Language	English

Pretty in Pink is a 1986 film about teenage love and social cliques in 1980s American high schools. It is one of a group of John Hughes movies starring Molly Ringwald, and is commonly identified as a "Brat Pack" movie. The title of the film comes from the song of the same name by British music group The Psychedelic Furs.

The film was directed by Howard Deutch, produced by Lauren Shuler and written by John Hughes.

Tagline: He's crazy about her, she's crazy about him, and he's just crazy.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Cast 3 Soundtrack 4 Production 4.1 Casting 5 Reaction 6 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Molly Ringwald stars as Andie Walsh, a poor but fashion-conscious New Wave girl who has a crush on one of the rich boys in her school, Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy). When Andie and Blane try to get together, they encounter resistance from their respective social circles.

Andie lives on "the wrong side of the tracks" with her unemployed, sluggish father (Harry Dean Stanton). She is trying to convince him to get a job and seems to be struggling with it. Her mother left the family a few years before. To save money, Andie buys secondhand clothes and uses her sewing and fashion skills to create unique New Wave clothes. She drives an old, beat-up, dusty rose-colored lowlight Karmann Ghia. Her best friend is Duckie Dale (Jon Cryer). Duckie has intense feelings for Andie, often riding his bike around her house, but plays it off as a joke in front of her. In school, she and Duckie are harassed by friends of Blane, the so-called "richie" kids Benny (Kate Vernon) and Steff (James Spader). Steff is harboring romantic feelings towards her as well, but she knows he's only after sex.

Andie works at TRAX, a New Wave music store in Chinatown neighborhood of Chicago, managed by her older mentor friend Iona (Annie Potts), whose quirky and unconventional dress sense is more influenced by her personal tastes than by her age group, and moans about her newly single life. Iona advises Andie to go to her senior prom despite not having a date. Blane and Andie talk for a brief moment as Blane buys an album. Andie then begins developing feelings for Blane. She discusses them with a few friends at the local club, CATS.

Soon, Blane makes his move via chatting in the computer lab and Andie is smitten. Blane ventures out to the area at school where the punks, metalheads, and New Wavers hang out during lunch and after classes, and asks Andie on a date. Steff begins questioning why his best friend "was conversing with a mutant", but Blane brushes him off.

On the Friday night of the date, Andie waits for Blane at TRAX, but he is late. Duckie arrives instead, only to find Andie upset because she thinks she's been stood up. When Blane finally arrives, Duckie and Andie argue when he sees who she is going on a date with. Duckie tries to convince her that Blane will only hurt her and that his group is all the same. Andie attempts to convince Duckie otherwise. After a few harsh words, Duckie storms out, frustrated and hurt. Andie goes on her date with Blane.

First, Blane suggests going to a party Steff is throwing. But the party isn't exactly what Blane expected, and Andie is treated poorly by everyone, including a drunk Steff and Benny. Andie, in turn, suggests going to CATS, where they discover Iona sitting with Duckie. Duckie is immediately hostile toward Blane, and as he and Andie start walking out of the club, Duckie yells to Andie that she's been "replaced" soon after kissing Iona. It is obvious, however, that Duckie is bluffing. Blane offers to take Andie home, but she declines. He offers to take her somewhere to eat, but again, she refuses. They briefly argue then Andie finally admits she doesn't want Blane to take her home because she doesn't want him to see where she lives. Despite the bad date, Blane drops Andie off at her home and the two end the night with a kiss. Blane asks Andie to the prom and she excitedly accepts. The next day, Andie visits Iona in her loft in Chinatown to tell her about the previous evening and the prom date. Iona begins reminiscing about her own prom, donning her old pink prom dress and a beehive hairstyle.

At home, Andie's father surprises her with a pink dress he bought for her at the thrift shop. Questioning how he was able to afford it, Andie discovers he has been faking going to a full-time job. The two begin to fight until her father breaks down, obviously still bitter and depressed about his wife having left him. Andie responds by comforting him and they make up but she, too, seems distressed about the breakup as she looks at a picture of her mother and cries.

Meanwhile Blane, pressured by Steff and his reputation as a "richie", begins distancing himself from Andie. He avoids her at school and doesn't return her calls. She finally confronts Blane, yelling at him to admit that he is embarrassed to be seen with her. He claims that he had asked someone else to go to the prom with him before he'd asked her, but had forgotten about it. Andie runs away, heartbroken. Duckie overhears Steff trashing Andie and they end up fighting in the hallway. Teachers come out of the classrooms to stop the fight, and Duckie runs down the hall and out the door, tearing down the prom night banner on his way out.

Andie seeks more advice from Iona, only to find her preparing for a date with a yuppie, dressing like the stereotype of a normal adult for a change. Iona is so excited about the new man in her life that she is already thinking about marriage. At first she is too wrapped up in her new romance to notice that Andie is upset, but when she realises her favorite teen is unhappy they talk about Andie's issues. Iona's new found happiness inspires Andie and she goes home with her friends old prom night dress and creates a new pink dress in which she decides to attend the prom to "show them they didn't break [her]."

When she gets to the prom her confidence deserts her and she's clearly having second thoughts about braving the crowd on her own. Just as it looks like she may change her mind and not go in to face her tormentors, she sees Duckie, also dressed up for the prom, looking at her from afar. Seeing her friend braving the same social situation strengthens her resolve and, having instantly made up, they walk into the ballroom hand in hand. Steff snickers and begins trashing Andie and Duckie again, only to be finally told off by the normally passive Blane. Blane says that Andie would never go for him because she sees him for who he really is; with all his money, he could never buy her. Blane walks over to the pair, shakes Duckie's hand and tells Andie that he always believed in her, he just didn't believe in himself. He says he'll always love her no matter what and leaves the prom. Duckie concedes that she was right, "He's not like the others" and advises Andie to go after him. After Andie leaves, a blonde girl (Kristy Swanson) notices Duckie and silently invites him to go over and dance with her.

Outside of the prom, Andie catches Blane in the parking lot just before he gets to his BMW and they kiss in the misty night.

[edit] Cast

• Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh
• Jon Cryer as Philip F. "Duckie" Dale
• Andrew McCarthy as Blane McDonough
• Harry Dean Stanton as Jack Walsh
• Annie Potts as Iona
• James Spader as Steff McKee
• Kate Vernon as Benny Hanson
• Andrew Dice Clay as Bouncer at CATS
• Kristy Swanson as Duckette
• Alexa Kenin as Jenna
• Dweezil Zappa as Simon
• Gina Gershon as Trombley, Girl Friend / Gym Class

[edit] Soundtrack

[edit] Production

John Hughes wrote the film screenplay early in 1985. Filming began on June 22, 1985 and ended on October 12, 1985.

[edit] Casting

Anthony Michael Hall was originally cast as Phil "Duckie" Dale, but turned the role down, fearing being typecast as a "geek". John Hughes tried later with Robert Downey Jr. for the part of Duckie. However, he wanted a relatively unknown Jon Cryer for the part of Duckie, and Cryer was cast.

Justine Bateman was originally approached to play Andie Walsh, but turned the role down due to her commitment to the TV series Family Ties. Jodie Foster was the second choice, but she also declined the offer because she was going to graduate from Yale. Molly Ringwald, a member of the Brat Pack was a friend of Hughes at the time, and starred in two other John Hughes-directed films: Sixteen Candles (1984) and The Breakfast Club (1985). Ms. Ringwald read the script, and was cast.

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Reaction

The film was a critical and commercial success. The film earned USD 6,065,870 during its opening weekend and earned USD 40,471,663 during its theatrical run. The film was the 22nd highest-grossing film in 1986.

Metacritic gives 57 out of 100 reviews for the film, but Rotten Tomatoes gives a 79% rating.

[edit] External links

• Pretty in Pink at the Internet Movie Database
• Pretty in Pink at Allmovie

Preceded by Down and Out in Beverly Hills

Box office number-one films of 1986 (USA) March 2, 1986 – March 9, 1986

Succeeded by Gung Ho

v • d • e John Hughes As director and writer Sixteen Candles (1984) • The Breakfast Club (1985) • Weird Science (1985) • Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) • Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) • She's Having a Baby (1988) • Uncle Buck (1989) • Curly Sue (1991) As writer only National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982) • Mr. Mom (1983) • National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) • Nate and Hayes (1983) • Pretty in Pink (1986) • Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) • The Great Outdoors (1988) • National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) • Home Alone (1990) • Career Opportunities (1991) • Dutch (1991) • Beethoven (1992) • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) • Dennis the Menace (1993) • Baby's Day Out (1994) • Miracle on 34th Street (1994) • 101 Dalmatians (1996) • Flubber (1997) • Home Alone 3 (1997) • Reach the Rock (1998) • Just Visiting (2001) • Maid in Manhattan (2002) • Drillbit Taylor (2008)

v • d • e Films directed by Howard Deutch Pretty in Pink (1986) · Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) · The Great Outdoors (1988) · Article 99 (1992) · Getting Even with Dad (1994) · Grumpier Old Men (1995) · The Odd Couple II (1998) · The Replacements (2000) · The Whole Ten Yards (2004) · My Best Friend's Girl (2008)