Writer John Hughes apparently reveres his childhood, in about the same way the makers of TV's "Happy Days" revered the 1950s. He has wrapped up his memories in plastic coating and taken care to make certain everything comes off COOL--even his leading character, a high school misfit, is very cool simply by having her rebuff the popular clique (a clique most teens would prefer to be in, rather than being tagged an 'outcast'). As played by Molly Ringwald, this high school unfortunate has her own phone, her own car, and her own job (in a fashionably retro record shop). "Pretty In Pink" is designed to make high school look good to junior high schoolers. It's Hughes' heaven for the have-nots (those who can afford it, anyway), where a misfit culture can make goofy glasses and thrift-shop attire something to LONG for. As a romantic teen-comedy, it stumbles by giving us insufferably smug Andrew McCarthy as Ringwald's dream guy (he's the type of actor who relaxes only when it's his close-up) and James Spader as the preppy villain (he looks so old, at first I thought he might be one of the teachers in "Miami Vice" dress). Ringwald is charming, and Jon Cryer takes a formula role as a goofy guy-pal and makes it something a little special (although it's a hand-me-down from Anthony Michael Hall). The film has some sincerity and a few witty lines, but basically it's pap (or rather, pablum) for audiences unwilling to chew, just swallow. ** from ****
Review of Pretty in Pink
