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''Pretty in Pink'' is a 1986 American teen romantic
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film about love and social cliques in American high schools in the 1980s. The film stars Molly Ringwald, alongside Harry Dean Stanton,
Jon Cryer Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in ''No Small Affair'' (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughe ...
, Annie Potts,
James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...
, and Andrew McCarthy. A
cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
, it is commonly identified as a " Brat Pack" film. The film follows high school senior Andie Walsh (Ringwald), and her relationships with her love interest Blane McDonnagh (McCarthy), her best friend Philip F. "Duckie" Dale (Cryer), and her father (Dean Stanton). It was directed by
Howard Deutch Howard Roy Deutch (born September 14, 1950) is an American film and television director who worked with filmmaker John Hughes, directing two of Hughes's best-known screenplays, '' Pretty in Pink'' and '' Some Kind of Wonderful''. Since 2011, he h ...
, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, and written by John Hughes, who also served as co-executive producer. The film was named after a
song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
by
the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...
, and the film's soundtrack, which has been acclaimed as "among the most brilliant in modern cinema", features a re-recorded version of the song.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...
's " If You Leave" became an international hit and charted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 1986. ''Pretty in Pink'' premiered at Mann's Chinese Theatre on January 29, 1986, and was released theatrically in the United States on February 28. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Ringwald's performance, and grossed $40.5 million against a $9 million budget.


Plot

High school senior Andie Walsh lives with her underemployed working-class father, Jack, in a Chicago suburb. Andie's best friend, an outsider named Philip "Duckie" Dale, is in love with her, but is afraid to tell her how he truly feels. In school, Duckie and Andie, along with their friends, are harassed and bullied by the arrogant "richie" and popular kids, specifically Benny Hanson and her boyfriend, Steff McKee, who finds Andie attractive and secretly resents having been rejected by her. Andie works after school at Trax, a hip record store managed by the quirky thirty-something Iona. Andie starts talking about her school's senior prom to Iona, who advises her to go, despite not having a date. Blane McDonnagh, one of the preppy boys and Steff's best friend, falls for Andie and eventually asks her out. On the night of the date, Andie waits for Blane at Trax, but he is late. Duckie enters and asks her to go out with him, but she ignores him. When Blane arrives, Duckie becomes upset and argues with Andie before storming off. Blane brings Andie to Steff's house party, where Andie is bullied by the rich partygoers. Andie then brings Blane to a local nightclub, where Iona is sitting with Duckie, who is hostile and jealous toward Blane. After another argument with Duckie, Andie and Blane walk out of the club. She tells him she wants to go home, but refuses to let him bring her there, confessing she doesn't want him to see where she lives. Andie eventually allows Blane to drop her off, he asks her to the prom and they share their first kiss. Andie visits Iona the next day to talk about the date. Meanwhile, Blane, pressured by Steff, Benny, and rich friends, begins distancing himself from Andie. Jack presents Andie with a pink dress that he has bought for her. However, they begin to argue because he has been lying about going to a full-time job. Jack breaks down, revealing that he is still bitter and depressed about his wife having left them. At school, Andie confronts Blane for avoiding her and not returning her calls. When asked about the prom, he claims that he had already asked somebody else but had forgotten. Andie calls Blane a liar, saying he is ashamed of being seen with her as his rich friends will not approve. Andie runs away as a teary-eyed Blane leaves, with Steff trashing Andie as he passes. Duckie overhears Steff and attacks him in the hallway. The two fight before teachers intervene. Andie goes to Iona, upset about what happened, and asks for her old prom dress. Using the fabric from Iona's dress and the dress that her father had bought, Andie creates a pink prom dress. When she arrives at the prom, Andie has second thoughts about braving the crowd on her own until she sees Duckie. They reconcile and walk into the ballroom hand in hand. As a drunk Steff begins mocking the couple, Blane confronts him and finally realizes that Steff resents Andie because she had turned down his advances. He calls him out on his spoiled and entitled attitude, saying that he no longer wishes to associate with him. Blane shakes Duckie's hand and apologizes to Andie, telling her that he always believed in her and that he will always love her, kissing her cheek before walking out. Duckie concedes that Blane is not like the other rich kids at school and advises Andie to go after him, joking that he will never take her to another prom if she does not. He then sees a girl smiling at him, signaling him to come over and dance. Andie catches up with Blane in the parking lot and they kiss.


Cast

* Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh * Harry Dean Stanton as Jack Walsh *
Jon Cryer Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in ''No Small Affair'' (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughe ...
as Philip F. "Duckie" Dale * Annie Potts as Iona *
James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...
as Steff McKee * Andrew McCarthy as Blane McDonnagh * Kate Vernon as Benny Hanson *
Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the f ...
as Bouncer * Kristy Swanson as Duckette * Alexa Kenin as Jena Hoeman *
Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa develo ...
as Simon * Gina Gershon as Trombley * Margaret Colin as English teacher * Jim Haynie as Donnelly, School Director * Maggie Roswell as Mrs. Dietz
Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...
was considered for the role of Blane but Ringwald convinced the film makers to cast McCarthy instead.
Anthony Michael Hall Anthony Michael Hall (born Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall; April 14, 1968) is an American actor, producer and comedian. After his film debut in ''Six Pack (film), Six Pack'' (1982) and a supporting role as Russell "Rusty" Griswold in ''Nat ...
turned down the role of Duckie because he didn't want to be typecast. Ringwald lobbied for Robert Downey Jr. to be cast as Duckie but agreed that Cryer made sense in light of the film's revised ending. Jennifer Beals turned down the role of Andie Walsh.
Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...
,
Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...
, Tatum O'Neal, and
Lori Loughlin Lori Anne Loughlin (; born July 28, 1964) is an American actress. From 1988 to 1995, she played List of Full House and Fuller House characters#Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis, Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC ...
were also considered.


Production


Origin

Ringwald said that she introduced Hughes to The Psychedelic Furs song of the same name, which inspired Hughes to write the screenplay.


Production

Deutch felt there was something missing in the opening scene. Hughes later wrote the scene where Jack tells Andie maybe she could add some ruffles underneath his T-shirt.


Changed ending

Originally, the film portrayed Andie and Duckie ending up together. However, test audiences booed this ending. John Hughes wrote a new five-page ending where Andie and Blane get together instead. This was shot several months after the film wrapped production, and was filmed in one day on a soundstage designed to look like the Los Angeles hotel ballroom where the first ending had been filmed. When called back to film the new scene, Andrew McCarthy was in pre-production for a stage play, and had lost weight and cut his hair for the stage role, so he was fitted with a wig for the re-shoot. Molly Ringwald had anticipated that audiences would be dissatisfied with the original ending, saying: "It didn't make sense to have the entire movie be this Cinderella story etshe doesn't get to end up with the guy she wants." Ringwald has said Duckie was based on her best friend, who was gay and with whom she "had an extremely nonromantic relationship". Jon Cryer has stated that he was shocked that the test audience was unhappy about the pairing, and felt that the whole film was built around Andie and Duckie ending up together. Hughes aimed "to protect Duckie's character" in the new ending by having another girl at the prom show interest in him, played by Kristy Swanson in her first theatrical film role and credited as "Duckette". Paramount executives were also apprehensive about the original ending, worried that the film might be perceived as classist and as suggesting that wealthy people and poor people should not interact.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...
had written the song "Goddess of Love" for the original ending (which they later rewrote and released on the album ''
The Pacific Age ''The Pacific Age'' is the seventh studio album by the English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 29 September 1986 by Virgin Records. It was the last of two OMD studio albums produced by Stephen Hague, after ...
''). Hughes didn't consider the song a good fit for the newly re-shot Andie/Blane ending and asked the band to write something else. With only two days before going on tour, OMD wrote " If You Leave" in less than 24 hours. Paramount has said that they have been unable to locate the footage of the original ending.


Dedication

In the closing credits, the film is dedicated to actress Alexa Kenin and set designer Bruce Weintraub, both of whom died shortly after production had finished.


Novel

The film was adapted into a novel written by H. B. Gilmour and Randi Reisfield, released in 1986. It was published by
Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...
(. ). The book was written before the last scene was changed, so it has the original ending in which Andie ends up with Duckie instead of Blane.


Release


Box office

''Pretty in Pink'' was the top-grossing film for the week of March 12, 1986. The film earned
US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
6.1 million during its opening weekend and $40.5 million during its theatrical run. It was the 22nd-highest-grossing film of 1986.


Reception

On
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Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 56 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "Molly Ringwald gives an outstanding performance in this sweet, intelligent teen comedy that takes an ancient premise and injects it with insight and wit." Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film three stars out of four, criticizing the "old, old, old" plot but praising the performances of Molly Ringwald and Annie Potts, and calling it "a heartwarming and mostly truthful movie, with some nice touches of humor." Janet Maslin of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote, "Fortunately, the actors are mostly likable, and the story is told gently enough to downplay both its trendiness and its conventionality." James Harwood of '' Variety'' wrote, "In his mid-30s, John Hughes' much-vaunted teen thinking now seems to be maturing a bit in ''Pretty in Pink,'' a rather intelligent (if not terribly original) look at adolescent insecurities ... Teamed with Hughes for the third time, Molly Ringwald is herself growing as an actress, lending ''Pink'' a solid emotional center that largely boils down to making the audience care about her."
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' wrote that Ringwald "carries the movie, though she has nothing particularly interesting to do or say," and called the film "slight and vapid, with the consistency of watery Jello."
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, faulting a "tired script" and Cryer's "one-note performance," though he found Ringwald "absolutely beguiling." Patrick Goldstein of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' called the film "delightful," adding that "what makes ''Pretty in Pink'' such a satisfying, big-hearted film isn't its creaky story line or its somewhat unconvincing conclusion, but the way it lets us watch kids through their own eyes, exploring feelings instead of making caricatures of them. Written by Hughes and directed by newcomer Howard Deutch, the movie neatly captures the nuances of youth, reminding us how the most casual remark can unleash a flood of insecurities." Paul Attanasio of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' wrote that "for the most part, ''Pretty in Pink'' works from a standard formula—rich boy, poor girl—and does little to tweak or reinvent it."


Legacy

The main cast of ''Pretty in Pink'' was featured in an October 15, 2010 issue of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' that featured reunions with the casts of landmark films and television shows.


Soundtrack

As with previous films by John Hughes, ''Pretty in Pink'' featured a soundtrack composed mostly of
new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...
. While director Howard Deutch originally intended the film to primarily contain theme music, Hughes influenced Deutch's decision to use post-punk music throughout the film. The title song by
the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...
acted as a bit of inspiration for the film and was re-recorded specifically for the film's opening sequence in a version that was less raw than the original version that appeared on the 1981 album '' Talk Talk Talk''. "Left of Center" was remixed by Arthur Baker. The first track, "If You Leave", by
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...
, was written in 1985 specifically for the film. In addition to their soundtrack song "Shellshock", New Order also contributed an instrumental version of " Thieves Like Us" and the instrumental " Elegia", both of which appear in the film but not on the soundtrack. The Rave-Ups, who appear in the film performing "Positively Lost Me" and "Shut-Up" from their ''Town and Country'' album, do not have any songs on the soundtrack album.
Nik Kershaw Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the decade, i ...
's " Wouldn't It Be Good" appears on the soundtrack in a version by former
Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sn ...
vocalist Danny Hutton's band, Danny Hutton Hitters.
The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
' " Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want" appears on the soundtrack and was later covered by the Autumns for the 2000 ''Isn't She Still... The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Revisited'' album. Also noteworthy is the inclusion of
Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...
's " Bring On the Dancing Horses", which, according to the liner notes of the CD release of the band's compilation album '' Songs to Learn & Sing'', was recorded specifically for the film. The film also includes
Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...
's " Try a Little Tenderness", to which Duckie lip-synchs in the film,
the Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...
's " Cherish" and Talk Back's "Rudy". These three tracks do not appear on the official soundtrack album. The soundtrack was released on
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
by
A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
in February 1986, and was certified a gold record by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
two months later. It was listed on the "Best Movie Soundtracks: The 15 Film Music Compilations That'll Change Your Life" list in ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' and "The 25 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time" list in ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
rated it four stars out of five. It was re-released in 2013 as a limited edition on pink-colored vinyl.


Charts


Singles released


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pretty in Pink 1986 films 1986 directorial debut films 1980s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1980s high school films 1986 romantic comedy films 1980s romantic comedy-drama films 1980s teen comedy-drama films 1980s teen romance films American coming-of-age comedy films American high school films American romantic comedy-drama films Films about proms American teen comedy-drama films American teen romance films Coming-of-age romance films 1980s English-language films Films about interclass romance Films directed by Howard Deutch Films produced by Lauren Shuler Donner Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by John Hughes (filmmaker) Films about father–daughter relationships 1980s American films English-language romantic comedy-drama films Paramount Pictures films