Review
Penned and produced by John Hughes (oh, he of SIXTEEN CANDLES and THE BREAKFAST CLUB fame), this film is commonly thought of in its Hughesian terms, when it was in fact directed by first timer Howard Deutch (who went on to SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL, another Hughes story, and, years later, THE REPLACEMENTS). Incidentally, now that I think about it, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL is basically PRETTY IN PINK, only from the guy’s perspective. Eric Stoltz even has red hair.
In case you’re having difficulties recalling exactly which Molly Ringwald-starrer this is, PRETTY IN PINK is the one where Ringwald is Andie, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks (literally) who falls for soulful-eyed, wavy-haired “richie” Blane (Andrew McCarthy), all the while breaking the heart of her very devoted “zoid” best friend Duckie (Jon Cryer).
Because Andie has her own sense of style, she’s bullied by the beautiful rich blond girls at school. Andie’s “something special” doesn’t go unnoticed by guys, though, as not only does she have adorably dweebie Duckie hanging on her every word and the potential for a star-crossed romance with Blane, but even Blane’s friend Steff (played with sleazy glee by James Spader) has developed an interest.
When Andie and Blane go out on a date, they discover the almost insurmountable difficulties of their class divisions. (His friends don’t like her; her friends don’t like him.) Throwing caution to the wind, Blane asks her to prom. And then about five minutes later, after a talking to by Steff, he’s avoiding Andie’s phone calls and telling her that he accidentally asked someone else and totally forgot about it.
After a rousing dress-sewing montage, Andie defiantly heads to prom alone. She’s about to chicken out when, lo and behold, who should come to her rescue but the ever-faithful Duckie? They head into prom together, and if you’re like me you’re suckered every time into thinking it could be the beginning of a beautiful (if slightly eccentric) relationship. But Andie callously ditches Duckie for Blane, who has come to the prom alone, apologizes for being a jerk, and tells her that he loves her.
Don’t be sad for Duckie, though. He picks up a Duckette of his own at the prom (Kristy Swanson, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER).
Picture and Sound
The widescreen picture is a brilliant showcase for DP Tak Fujimoto’s work. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is also very good.
Extras
Nary a commentary track or 80’s music video to be found on this “totally awesome” disc.
As with every DVD in the “I Love the 80’s” collection, disc comes with a “Limited Edition CD” featuring four (and only four, and the same four in every disc) songs. Lips Like Sugar by Echo & the Bunnymen, Chains of Love by Erasure, Need You Tonight by INXS, and Take on Me by ah-ha.
Summary
True fans of PRETTY IN PINK would do well to steer clear of this edition and hunt down the EVERYTHING’S DUCKIE edition, which is chock-full of extras, including the original ending. If you’re desperate for the “bonus” CD that you can find in any of the 80’s discs in this collection, I’m betting you can get a better deal downloading the 4 songs off iTunes. Not to mention a whole host of other classic 80’s tunes that should have been included or at least featured on a variety of CDs to be collected.
