John Hughes, RIP

The Brat Pack enabler and Illinois nationalist, a writer/director who inflicted himself permanently onto the teenage psyche of Generation X, then quit directing while he was ahead in 1991, has died of a heart attack at age 59. Did you know that he invented those Edge vs. foam credit card shaving commercials, at least according to the Wikipedia?

I was looking around for a clip of The Breakfast Club, Hughes' high-water mark (you Ferris Bueller fans are just wrong, don't even argue)…and I found what may be Judd Nelson's second-best performance:

Comments

[brotherben]

Wow, I just looked at a list of his work. It seems that he was involved in every watchable comedy in the eighties.

[Pro Libertate]

Matt,

Oh, please. Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.

[shrike]

Oh bummer, may he Beat the Meatles someday in imaginary Heaven.

Or was that Chris Moodey?

Nevertheless, the NatLamp crew of the 70's was the best - they taught me to distrust everyone.

[libertymike]

Moynihan is probably jealous of Hughes in addition to being so envious of Limbaugh.

[Warren]

Pro,

What Jefferson was saying was, Hey! You know, we left this England place 'cause it was bogus; so if we don't get some cool rules ourselves - pronto - we'll just be bogus too!

[libertymike]

Anbody here have a date esperience of either Pretty in Pink and/or Some Kind od Wonderful followed by first time sex with said date?

[Ayn Rand]

Shorter Judd Nelson: The government should not have to pay for money.

WTF?

[The Angry Optimist]

Woops - busted.

[highnumber]

Weird Science was the best of the brat pack movies.

[Hugh Akston]

Are we going to have to do one of these hoary RIP threads every goddam time someone dies? Seriously? People die. Whoop de fucking do. John Hughes died professionally after Career Opportunities was in the can. After that, the bodily death is just a footnote.

Good crazy-man rant from Judd Nelson though. That dude is fucking harsh.

[ev]

Ferris and Breakfast club are both spectacular.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles, although recognizing it to be a completely different thing, is one of the better comedies in the last 20 years.

"Well, how about a gun so you can blow your brains out! You'll thank me for it!"

[brotherben]

Breakfast Club was good. Christmas Vacation is one of my all-time faves. Sixteen Candles is my favorite of the Molly Ringwald flix. Planes Trains and Automobiles is a classic imo.

[Franklin Harris]

I was looking around for a clip of The Breakfast Club, Hughes' high-water mark (you Ferris Bueller fans are just wrong, don't even argue)

Them's fightin' words.

[Nick]

Car Rental Agent: How may I help you?

Neal: You can start by wiping that fucking dumb-ass smile off your rosey, fucking, cheeks! Then you can give me a fucking automobile: a fucking Datsun, a fucking Toyota, a fucking Mustang, a fucking Buick! Four fucking wheels and a seat!

Car Rental Agent: I really don't care for the way you're speaking to me.

Neal: And I really don't care for the way your company left me in the middle of fucking nowhere with fucking keys to a fucking car that isn't fucking there. And I really didn't care to fucking walk down a fucking highway and across a fucking runway to get back here to have you smile in my fucking face. I want a fucking car RIGHT FUCKING NOW!

Car Rental Agent: May I see your rental agreement?

Neal: I threw it away.

Car Rental Agent: Oh boy.

Neal: Oh boy, what?

Car Rental Agent: You're fucked!

[Episiarch]

I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there.

Yeah, well, he also said he didn't believe in Elvis. Not cool, man. NOT COOL.

I was looking around for a clip of The Breakfast Club, Hughes' high-water mark (you Ferris Bueller fans are just wrong, don't even argue)

I would agree that it was his most "artistic" work, but Weird Science was the most entertaining. Beuller didn't really do much for me, which surprised me as much as anyone. Maybe it's because I detest Matthew Broderick.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles was one of the first incarnations of Steve Martin as the straight man, and after years of The Jerk, The Man With Two Brains, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, etc., it just didn't work for me--it was a letdown.

[The Wine Commonsewer (TWC)]

Much as TWC enjoyed Bueller, it is inarguable that Breakfast Club was the high water mark.

Hughes got dissed a lot by those older than Gen X but his movies were light years ahead of what went before (in the teen angst genre).

High, yes on Weird Science, cuz didn't every 15 year old boy ever living dream of creating HER?

[green mamba]

I hated both Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller, both emblematic of that crappy decade. The only good thing Hughes did for the movies was write the script for National Lampoon's Vacation.

[Jesse Walker]

Ferris Bueller and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles are decent comedies.

It is better to remember watching The Breakfast Club as a teenager than to actually re-watch it as an adult.

Gedde Watanabe is the Steppin Fetchit of the '80s.

That is all.

[Episiarch]

Gedde Watanabe is the Steppin Fetchit of the '80s.

But what about Gung Ho, dude?!?

[Sean W. Malone]

Wow... My main professor/mentor in graduate school, Ira Newborn, scored Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

[Sean W. Malone]

He also, much more importantly, scored the Naked Gun series.

[qwerty]

RIP, John Hughes. They don't make teen movies like they did in the 80's (except for Election which was, like, totally awesome!)

[The Angry Optimist]

guys, arguing about the best Hughes film is, to use a cliche, like arguing about who's the best athlete in the Special Olympics.

[Johnny Longtorso]

But Ferris Buller gave us the best TV show ever, Parker Lewis Can't Lose.

Synchronize swatches!!

[Pro Libertate]

Actually, my favorite is Vacation. I didn't care for the sequels much.

[BakedPenguin]

...arguing about the best Hughes film is ...like arguing about who's the best athlete in the Special Olympics.

Be quiet TAO, or we'll make you (re)watch the film version of The Fountainhead. King Vidor for epic fail.

[strike through]

a writer/director who inflicted himself permanently onto the teenage psyche of Generation X

Wow, really? Generation X is now middle-age?
Hahahaha! This makes my day.
And you still suck, GenX.

[BakedPenguin]

Go play your fucking Jonas Brothers CDs while you jerk off, strike through.

[IceTrey]

"Planes, Trains & Automobiles" hands down.

[Franklin Harris]

Be quiet TAO, or we'll make you (re)watch the film version of The Fountainhead. King Vidor for epic fail.

You have insufficient appreciation for Vidor's striking use of light and shadow in that film. Plus, the shot composition is excellent. Whatever else, it's a gorgeous film to look at.

[Art-P.O.G.]

You have insufficient appreciation for Vidor's striking use of light and shadow in that film. Plus, the shot composition is excellent. Whatever else, it's a gorgeous film to look at.

Word. Also, King Vidor makes me think of King Vitaman cereal. Mmmm.

Breakfast Club kicked ass. Hard.

[BakedPenguin]

Franklin, true, the cinematography was excellent. Kurosawa's Dersu Uzala had great cinematography as well. Doesn't mean I want to sit through it again.

The performances were over-the-top, even for a Rand novel. There was no psychological realism whatsoever. This is not necessarily the death knell of a movie, but my problem was if the characters are basically cyphers for philosophical positions, then they don't need to be emoting all over the place. It's a lot harder to appreciate the chiaroscuro when the scenery is being chewed to pieces.

If you get a chance, though, do check out the Italian We the Living (There were two films - Noi Vivoi and Addio, Kira. The technical aspects - including the editing - were not that great, but the performances (including Alida Valli as Kira) were good, and I thought they did a decent job of adapting the book.

[Roger]

No way, Uncle Buck is definitely the high point.

[lumpy]

I think Risky Business was far superior to any of John Hughes' films.

[strike through]

BakedPenguin | August 6, 2009, 11:04pm | #

Go play your fucking Jonas Brothers CDs while you jerk off, strike through.

Not even close, BP. My "generation" precedes those silly end-of-alphabet designations.