Thank you, John Hughes.
Thanks for making Pretty In Pink and thanks for making it possible for Molly Ringwald to meet the whole film-watching world, and thanks for Andie.
The cutely freckled, red-headed, adorably teethed/lipped Ms Ringwald was one of the first girls I saw on-screen that diverted from the usual ‘type’. Her Pretty In Pink character Andie made it okay to be unconventional, to not slot blondely into the 80s norm.
Her home life was loving but felt a little precarious. She parented her parent with kindness and compassion, navigating whatever crossed her path with a steely determination. Her work life was amazing, because she had the keys to a record store and the adorable workmates/customers to match. Her school life was familiar to many, the unwitting coolest kind of girl cloaked in the guise of unpopular outsider. Her social life conflicted, teetering between trying to fit in (have a boyfriend, hang with his friends,be normal) to just doing her thing in the ridiculously appealing (to me) indie clubs. #80sdancingalert
Add to this a pretty serious commitment to fashion AND a whole heap of overt, kooky, on-screen creativity and I was hooked.
I pretty much wanted to BE Andie/Molly and was secretly mad that my sister had won the red hair lottery in our family and I was just born blonde. Darn genes.
Yes, all the usual teen themes made an appearance – boyfriend, popularity, fitting in. BUT they were handled differently, with our eyes also trained on the struggle to make painful high school conventions fit-all, rather than just the triumph of finally being accepted.
(Plus… amazing soundtrack! Like, just the best! Also… Kharmann Ghia of deluxe-yet-beaten-up-ness!)
Granted, I wish Andie had ended up happily on her own, but I am also one of the few people who loved Andie’s prom dress reinvention and all it stood for (because a. who cares about what other people think your dress should look like? and b. huge props for making something that is unique to you!), so go figure.
The original ending, apparently, saw the credits roll with Duckie and Andie at the prom together. This seems like the best kind of idea and much more true-to-Hughes. Blane is pretty flaky, let’s be real (kind of like Rory Gilmore’s Dean?!) And Duckie and Andie at the prom together COULD mean that they are just continuing their witty and devoted FRIENDSHIP, right? (Because NOT ALL stories have to end with the guy getting the girl. Because girls are not a thing to get. Because girls are not things. And they can be partner-less and not be ‘missing’ something, right?! Yes they can!)
Anyway, even with the cheesy ending, I still love this film SO MUCH and I can imagine an alternate ending and continue to be thankful for John Hughes. So that’s what I am going to do.
Happy birthday, Pretty In Pink!
Did/do you love this film as much as I did/do?!
(illustration by Alice Oehr – for my Pretty In Pink screening a couple of years ago!)
This is one of my favourite films EVER!!
Andi was my hero. She let me know it was ok to make your own clothes, to not conform with the in crowd.
I love this movie. It’s my go-to film when I’m feeling down.
Yes! Love this movie.
I also loved that the sister got stoned on painkillers because of her PERIOD! Yup periods were mentioned.
I did and do LOVE this movie, it was part of my childhood! ????
Thank you so much for writing this! I LOVE Pretty in Pink, in fact I watched it the other day 😀 I just love the outfits and the sets, although I have to pretend it ends with Andie and Duckie walking into the prom together!
I love Pretty In Pink.
Love it.
Andie was such a great character – she wasn’t just “the girlfriend”, she was the centre of that story. Kind of groundbreaking then and now really.
Her fashion sense was to die for. Her bedroom – swoon!!
Agree with you 100% about her prom dress, and that soundtrack is still one of the best, 30 years later.
Have you read the book “You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried?” – it’s about Hughes’ career and these seminal films he crafted, it’s so, so good!!
Yay for PIP – oh, looky there?!
Pip 4 PIP 4 lyf.