Scott Weinberg

I read Jamie S. Rich's DVD review of Some Kind of Wonderful: SE at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=23454 and...

I think this movie blows Pretty in Pink away on all counts. Excellent review!

jamieoni

Thanks, Scott. It was fun revisiting these movies. When I'd actually leave the house, and people would ask what I was up to, I'd tell them I was watching a couple of John Hughes films to review, and everyone was super jealous.

movielib

I totally agree. I've never understood the dismissive attitude toward Some Kind of Wonderful, except for its being somewhat of a retelling of Pretty in Pink. But if it does it better than its predecessor (which it does), it deserves the credit. It's a near-perfect little gem.

David Cornelius

Excellent review and big thanks for the comparison shots. Although that menu screen? Ugh.

But again, terrific write-up.

DirkBelig

I used to think that this was better than Pretty in Pink, too, but after watching both films recently, I've revised my opinion to that they are both very flawed films, but Pretty in Pink is more entertaining overall.

The problem with both is that they both have leads who can't see true love next to them while they obsess endlessly over people they don't even know. Keith is almost a stalker and paints the portrait for a shallow twit who he doesn't even know? He cashes in his college bonds to buy her earrings and then attacks her snobbery at dinner? It goes on and on and doesn't add up in any sense of reality.

Not that Andie is such a prize. My g/f mentioned something I hadn't noticed: Blaine was never ashamed of her. He took her to the party and got a ton of grief from Steff and the gang, but he wasn't ashamed of being seen with her. Meanwhile, Andie was all about class shame, etc. yet we're supposed to believe she wanted that in the end? Huh?

What carries Some Kind of Wonderful today is that it has the "correct" ending and Watts is such a heartbreaking character. But in any honesty appraisal, it's just as flawed as Pretty in Pink because Hughes scripts are both critically flawed and built on infatuations, not love.

DRG

But this happens in real life all the time. IN SKoW, keep in mind those two were best friends for a long time, and neither was really a 'great catch' in the traditional sense... a nerd and an outcast. Meaning even they didn't immediately see each other as romantic options. Even losers are attracted to people out of their league. It took competition for Watts to realize what she wanted... she probably never thought his crush would ever materialize into anything. Even if the whole thing plays out a bit too perfectly (too fairy tale?), I think the concept behind the character's motivations and desires is believable.

I'll agree with you here. They played these moments out a bit too extreme on both ends of his mood swing. While they did provide some motivations, the jump from obsessive crush to outright hostility did come off as a little too Mark David Chapman for me.

DirkBelig

I oversimplified the first argument, so here's a clarification...

Unless there was a bunch of dates that weren't shown, Blaine and Andie went out on two dates - the house party and the stables - so unless there was mucho soul-sharing and handjobbing happening offscreen, I don't see what big love affair was actually happening that needed saving.

SKoW has it far worse because until Keith asks Amanda out when she's on the outs with Hardy, they've had ZERO contact that we've seen. It's not like they were in classes together or study groups and he finally got the nerve to ask out an acquaintance. For him to sacrifice his education in order to buy this bimbo expensive gifts in lieu of being interesting and attractive in his own right actually opens up some more cans of worms about his pathology.

Switching to the place finishers, Duckie is a dumbass (e.g. "...one or both of you could be pregnant by Christmas.") while Watts is more the victim of people not cool with her butch looks and non-conformist 'tude. (My favorite Go-Go was Gina Schock, so I was all over Mary Stuart Masterson here, not that Lea Thompson wasn't babe-a-licious herself.) That Duckie was unlucky with the ladies wasn't much of a surprise.

Since we're mixing it up on these two films, what's the take on Annie Potts' change when she meets the yuppie guy? My g/f noticed that she suddenly started dressing straight to please this guy, but I say that he obviously saw her in her kitschy duds and wasn't offput, so she was just realizing that iconoclasm only goes so far in day to day existence.

Back in the day, I'd have given PiP a 7/10 and SKoW an 8/10, but after watching them now at twice the age I was then, I have to go 8/10 and 6/10 respectively. Watts is still the best of both films.

David Cornelius

Which is what makes Keith so interesting - it's such a stupid, stupid move, doing something that seems so right but only to him. He's been infatuated with her for years, but she barely knows he exists, and so a "yes" to being asked on a date to him means a lot more than it really does, only he doesn't know it.

It is, essentially, a movie about a kid making a whole lot of bad decisions before realizing the right ones. And that includes attacking Amanda's snobbery - his nerd/outcast status has made him what Amanda surprisingly is not: holier than thou. Amanda learns that she doesn't need the cool crowd, but Keith learns so much more, including that the cool crowd isn't all necessarily bad, that blowing your college fund on a crush is a mistake, that maybe he's not the great guy he thought he was. (Amanda's smackdown of him for painting her - "using" her - is hard, heavy stuff.)

It's more than a guy getting the right girl. It's a kid growing up fast, learning from a load of mistakes. Great, great stuff.

Hells yes!

DirkBelig

You must've seen an extended cut of the film from what I saw because I didn't see Keith getting a clue over time; it was a single flashback shot and suddenly he realizes Watts loves him?!? And then Amanda realizes it too and bows out gracefully after leaving the society lifestyle to which she became accustomed to? If so, then AMANDA did some growing on that date, while Keith was more acting on the whims of the script. Heck, Watts should've told Keith to bugger off and taken off with Amanda!

I'm sorry, but both films just don't make sense to my older sensibilities. If you want to say that they capture the irrational impulsiveness of young infatuations, that's fine, but I'd prefer that the films act as if they know these kids are being fools than act as accomplices and cheerleaders.

jamieoni

Amanda definitely did some changing on that date, and she does graciously nudge Keith in the right direction. I think if you watch Stoltz over the course of the night, however, he is constantly reacting to Watts' actions in nonverbal ways. He is perplexed by her behavior, and I think perplexed in how he feels in return. To me, the change was there, it just wasn't over stated, as would be the norm.

Rocketdog2000

Count me in with that assessment, too. I've always prefered Some Kind Of Wonderful to Pretty In Pink. They both have their good attributes, but I'll always choose the SKOW over PIP.

David Cornelius

You have to remember: this is the guy that made out with the gal that loves him, and he still didn't get it. Dude's not the brightest bulb.

You just sold me on the sequel!

Filmmaker

It's important to recognize PRETTY IN PINK's superiority in one vital, but non-narrative, aspect--it has a much better pop soundtrack!