R.I.P John Hughes

I was really sad to hear about the untimely death of John Hughes last night. Hughes was one of the most important directors of his decade but he also lent his hand in producing and script-writing. His films such as The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and Some Kind of Wonderful helped define pop culture in the 80s. They were the first films to cover teenage angst in a way that no one had done before and captured the way the youth talked and issues they had to deal with. In a nutshell John Hughes made movies that spoke to teenagers. Unlike directors today, Hughes made a lot of films in a short amount of time but still managed to maintain pure quality. My favorite John Hughes film is The Breakfast Club for it's compelling dialogue and characters which is closely followed by Some Kind of Wonderful.

John Hughes excellent body of work includes.

Sixteen Candles -1984
Weird Science - 1985
Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 1986
Pretty in Pink - 1986
The Breakfast Club - 1986
Some Kind of Wonderful - 1987
Planes, Trains and Automobiles - 1987
She�s Having a Baby �1988
Uncle Buck - 1989
Home Alone - 1990
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - 1992
Home Alone 3 - 1997
Maid in Manhattan - 2002

Look out for a retro review of Sixteen Candles next month. Check out the tribute video above and tell me which is your favourite John Hughes film?

Breakfast Club 2.0

It is good to know that the wonders of The Breakfast Club have not been forgotten. As well as the social psychologically issues that the 80s film raised there is also the kookish vibe, pop rock music and edgy fashion. These elements all packaged together created a wonderful form of pop culture that remains true today. So it is no wonder that US store, JC Penney has used the format of The Breakfast Club as a TV advert. Made by advertising supremos, Saatchi and Saatchi, the commercial which is called 'Get That Look' shows the famous bits from the film. We see five teenagers arrive at school for detention and see them performing the antics that we saw in the iconic film with an updated version of the theme soundtrack being played. It is really is a cute sight to see and I only have one question. What took them so long? Check out the advert above and tell me what you think.

The Brat Pack

I am a kid of the 80s and I totally love the era; the cool music, the wonderful films and ever so glam TV. Ok the fashion was a bit iffy, what with the over sized t-shirts, the leggings and shoulder pads but man those were some great times. One of major things that came out of that decade were coming of age movies such as The Breakfast Club, St Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The themes tended to be middle class teen or early twenties angst set against a backdrop of a large city. The stars in these films were Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson and Demi Moore who were dubbed The Brat Pack in reference in the 1950s Rat Pack. Last week I had an 80s movie marathon and watched Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and St Elmo's Fire. Pretty in Pink stars Molly Ringwald, a beautiful boho who is from the wrong side of the tracks who falls for one of the rich guys at her school. The Breakfast Club is a story of five teenagers who represent a different clique from their school who are forced to spend Saturday in detention together. After telling stories, insulting each other, dancing and opening up, the group discover that they have a lot more in common then they originally thought. St Elmo's Fire is a slightly more sophisticated film, that features a group of friends who have just graduated from University.

While watching these films it became apparent to me how influential these movies were on the industry. The Breakfast Club is ranked number one on Entertainment Weekly's list as the 50 Best High School Movies and has had a huge impact on the teen film genre and popular culture. The theme song, 'Don't You Forget About Me' by Simple Minds was a massive hit and reached number one in the US. With no Pretty in Pink, there would be no Clueless, Legally Blonde and Mean Girls. Also the close knit friendships of the characters in St Elmo's Fire is akin to those in Friends and Sex in the City. The colourful characters and wonderful dialogue in all films appears as funny and fresh as ever and you have to pinch yourself to make sure that you are watching a film from 20 years ago.