Thursday, August 6, 2009

Requiem For a Director - John Hughes

Beloved 80s filmmaker John Hughes died today. For people of a certain generation - those coming of age during MTV and VHS - his movies spoke to us in a way never before seen by our lost generation. Sure we dressed like dweebs and our girls wore leggings and had those great 80s exploding hair styles. We liked our beer cold and our direct to video movies to have something to do with radiated bad lands that some hero navigated after a world wide apocalypse. Hughes also made 'Uncle Buck' which is one of the most awesome John Candy movies. In 'Career Opportunities' he showcased the very gorgeous Jennifer Connolly while she rode a coin operated pony inside a store dressed in just a tank top. Meow. But his greatest achievement to the lexicon of teen movies has to be '16 Candles' which introduced the world to Anthony Michael Hall and made us all fall in love with Molly Ringwald. Miss Ringwald would also star in Hughes' magnum opus, the 'Breakfast Club'. This marked, for many the high point of his career - Judd Nelson, Emelio Estives, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall and the previously mentioned Ms Ringwald together made up parts of what that generation was all about. Suddenly I am very old again. His movies are the visual representation of my life.





4 comments:

Lemmy Caution said...

No kidding. Feeling much older this morning. Pretty much raised on Hughes' flicks. Mostly on repeated VHS screenings. The man left quite an amazing body of work behind.

Wings1295 said...

He certainly hit on what a generation wanted to see and enjoy. He made some great films, and the fact that they are so re-watchable is what makes them so truly awesome.

chunky B said...

"Suddenly I am very old again."

You and me both, I found out this morning, funny how you go to bed on top of the world, then wake up and feel like some one sucker punched you before you even got out of bed.

themom said...

His films definitely made an impact on several generations. Old and young alike - enjoyed and remembered most of his films. Now, my youngest grandson is watching and loving all of Hughes' films. they will last for future generations as well.