Tonight Wendy and I watched the John Candy/Steve Martin road-trip comedy, Planes, Trains & Automobiles. I'm sure we are probably the last people in the world to see this movie, so I won't really take much time to speak to its merits, other than to say that it was a classic awkward comedy-of-errors. And I can't remember the last time Steve Martin made a good movie (Father of the Bride?)... But the larger question that lingers is whatever happened to the once-prolific writer-director John Hughes?The man was once a Hollywood heavyweight, who wrote, produced, and/or directed some of the most memorable comedies of the 80s and early 90s. These included the early Chevy Chase Vacation movies, Molly Ringwald's greatest (Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles), some veritable teenage-angst classics (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful, The Breakfast Club), and several other box office hits (Home Alone, Uncle Buck, 101 Dalmatians, etc.). You could hardly see a comedy in the late 80s without Hughes' involvement; he was the Judd Apatow of the feathered bangs era.
So whatever happened to him? And why the sudden disappearance from Hollywood in the late 90s? He's still alive and well, and only in his late 50s, according to IMDB.com (always a legitimate source, of course). It's a genuine mystery as to why someone whose reign was as successful and wide-reaching would suddenly choose to sever ties with the industry that buttered his bread for so long (makes you wonder if some Hollywood big-wig unceremoniously kicked his Ferrari through the back windows of a high-story garage...).
Either way, I'd love to see a comeback.
Though several of his movies were pretty bad (Weird Science, Flubber), when he was good, he was really good. I'd say Ferris Bueller is still my favorite of the bunch, and the one I quote more often than the others. Which of John Hughes' movies is your favorite?
7 comments:
I can quote the Breakfast Club word for word!!! MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE!!!! Mat refuses to watch it with me. I also am a huge fan of Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and I too love Ferris Bueller's Day off. I am a total
80's geek, and think back wistfully to the days of the "Brat Pack." Ahhh the good old days. I am with you on the John Hughes come back What a sweet topic. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. I think I'm going to go through my DVD's and have an eighty's day. Ü
What are you talking about?? Weird Science was the bomb!
Lacy: I said "Weird Science" was bad, but that didn't stop us from watching it incessantly as kids. I mean seriously, two horny teenage boys create a beautiful woman on their computer??!?! It was a small step up from "Mannequin" on the 1980s terrible movie-meter.
"How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?"
Jodi was here! ;-)
Dont you love the scene in Planes when they are driving down the freeway the wrong way and John Candy acts like he is drinking?????
I have to agree with Amy. I loved the classic Hughes movies. I am not sure you could replicate those today and get the same vibe. Gotta love em' though!
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