There’s a new kid on the esteemed Paramount Presents line block, following Fatal Attraction, Flashdance, To Catch a Thief, and Elvis Pressley’s King Creole. The beloved John Hughes classic Pretty in Pink has joined the fabled Hollywood studio’s cinematic celebratory addition to the home video landscape with a Blu-Ray upgrade.
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Molly Ringwald is the titular character, Andie. She’s being raised by her single father dad Jack (Harry Dean Stanton), and what they lack in financial security, they have a loving bond that is as rich as any bank account. She attends high school in a town that is not necessarily wealthy, but one could safely assume that finding cash for a prom dress is hardly an issue for most teens. She works in an epitome of the 80s mom and pop record store while dreaming of life after graduation because—to quote Lloyd in LEGO: Ninjago, high school is “a little judgy.”
The 1986 smash hit featured our love interest in the form of Andrew McCarthy’s Blane, while an antagonist arrives in the embodiment of the 80s the rich snob, Steff (James Spader). Lucky for Andie, she has some close friends aiding in that sometimes traumatic march through high school. Jon Cryer made a talent announcement with his turn as her male BFF, Ducky. Fresh off of Ghostbusters, Annie Potts plays Iona—a confidant and her manager at that record store.
To say that Andie has an independent streak is putting it mildly. She is a creative soul living in a world where conformity seems like the law of the land. When her crush, Blane, becomes aware of her and somehow, someway, the pair connect romantically, it is beyond touching. Hughes has a way of crafting characters that leap off the screen and shot right into our collective hearts. The viewer is pulling for Andie and Blane, but the cards are stacked, and Steff is not making things easy for his blazer-loving pal. What could have come off as stereotypical, instead endears through the most organic of progress.
Whereas Sixteen Candles had Anthony Michael Hall), Hughes’ Pretty in Pink has Cryer. The latter has a mad crush on his BFF. He never summons the courage to tell her how he feels and the longer this goes on, the more cemented in the friend-zone he is, and Ducky knows it. There is something so indelible about the character that it resonates to this day. Whereas teens at the time would most identify with a single character in a film, such as Ringwald’s Claire in The Breakfast Club or Jake (Michael Schoeffling) in Sixteen Candles. What is so magical about Pretty in Pink is the fact that many in that audience could see a little bit of themselves in each one of the souls who inhabit Hughes’ Pink world.
Hughes was a truly gifted storyteller. His poetic yarns about teenagers truly captured not only the sentiment but what drives them to do what they do and be who they are, better than anyone in the business. Something extraordinary happened after witnessing this Blu-Ray upgrade of Pretty in Pink and that is that when the credits rolled, I wanted more—so I sought out The Breakfast Club and then Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. If some is good, more is better … am I right?!
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This was Ringwald’s vastest character yet and as such, it showed the command she had developed over the years from her actor’s toolbox. There are so many aspects of her performance, it’s hard to know where to start! Actually, check that—her relationship with her father is palpably priceless. The chemistry between Harry Dean Stanton and Ringwald is just so touching, endearing, and still resonates decades after the flick bowed. Stanton’s Jack is the single father model for everyone who finds themselves in a similar situation and in many ways, it was ahead of its time. Ringwald’s Andie and her pop is just one relationship in Pretty in Pink that is beyond priceless.
Her crush, Blane (Andrew McCarthy), may have the moniker of a “major appliance” (as Cryer’s Duckie points out), but he is different than the other rich souls that inhabit this landscape. This is classic McCarthy characterization and what he turns in for this flick is pitch-perfect for what Hughes needed from the part. He is just one man in Andie’s life that play a huge role in the teenager. How she is with Duckie is also mesmerizing to witness as well, and it all begins with Hughes’ script. There’s an old adage about characters and screenwriting that could not be more apt for Pretty in Pink. Every single character should be so flushed out that they could have their own film.
James Spader started his career in the 80s by playing a good number of, well … jerks. There’s just no other way to put it! Among his richest has to be his Steff (his role in Less Than Zero has to be the best) and how he is to his friends, such as Blane, and those he despises, Duckie and Andie, is just so raw—it’s almost painful to watch. He is a bully, through and through, but he does so in such a charming manner that it almost comes off as veiled compliments. It’s a crazy dichotomy that in the hands of a lesser actor, would not work. With Spader behind the “meanie,” it is yet another pitch-perfect turn in the flick.
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Director Howard Deutch (Hughes’ Some Kind of Wonderful, The Replacements) hits all the right notes on a film that could have gone down any number of cinematic avenues. It is an arena that is littered with imitators. The film concludes on what could be described as an iconic rite of passage, prom. Everything that Hughes has seeded in his script up until this point, bears fruit. All the answers to why Pretty in Pink remains one beloved slice of cinema is revealed in that conclusion.
This is the first time that Pretty in Pink has been on Blu-Ray and it is long overdue. It looks incredible and sounds sonically succulent. It was remastered from the 4K transfer and just pops off the screen. No one has looked so Pretty in Pink as Ringwald does in this stunning upgrade.
Among the bonus features is a great and new Filmmaker Focus with director Deutch. The Movie Mensch wishes more films did this … Pretty in Pink includes the film’s “isolated score track” from the uber-talented composer, Michael Gore. The original ending is included with the featurette The Lost Dance: The Original Ending. For longtime fans of this flick, it is utterly fascinating and fun.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: B