Screenwriter John Hughes, whose speciality is teens in turmoil, scores with the screenplay for this latter-day Cinderella story played out with intelligence and caring.
Andie Walsh is a teenage girl who worries that her lower-class roots might affect her budding relationship with a wealthy classmate.
Molly Ringwald plays this poor but pretty girl who falls in love with Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy, pictured below left), a boy from a wealthy family. Their budding romance is not helped along by their different social backgrounds.
Ringwald invests a sense of reality to her role as Andie (pictured above left), while Jon Cryer is funny, outrageous, obnoxious and completely disarming as Ducky – a nerdy twerp who dresses like a cross between a Harlem pimp and Jughead from The Archies (pictured above right).
James Spader is the smooth talking popular jerk, Steff, who is out to ruin our poor girl/rich boy romance by influencing his friend Blane to dump Andie (Ringwald).
But despite all of Stef’s evil efforts, Blane ultimately realises that fake friends and popularity aren’t worth the love he has with the poor girl from the other side of town.
Pretty In Pink epitomises everything that made the 80s a great time for teen flicks: – Secret loves, proms, a great soundtrack and a token American ‘New Waver’ with a fast mouth and a garish dress sense . . .
Molly Ringwald was the figurehead of the 1980’s “Brat Pack” – the one who first made the magazine covers and caught the public’s attention. Unfortunately, she was typecast in that role and, when the 80s ended, so too, it seemed, did her career.
In the end credits, the movie is dedicated to Alexa Kenin (who played Jena). She was tragically murdered in New York shortly after completing the movie.
TRIVIA
Pretty In Pink was shot at the same high school as Grease (1978). John Marshall High School in the Los Feliz suburb of Los Angeles was a pop culture hub for cinematic classics like Grease (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and more.
The school was also used for television series like The Wonder Years, and Growing Pains.
Andie Walsh
Molly Ringwald
Blane McDonough
Andrew McCarthy
Jack Walsh
Harry Dean Stanton
Phil “Ducky” Dale
Jon Cryer
Steff
James Spader
Iona
Annie Potts
Benny
Kate Vernon
Simon
Dweezil Zappa
Jena
Alexa Kenin
The Diceman (A Bouncer)
Andrew Dice Clay
Kate
Emily Longstreth
English Teacher
Margaret Colin
Girlfriend
Gina Gershon
Director
Howard Deutch
