John Hughes Reprise
I went to a fairly liberal secondary school, a school that had a reputation for excelling in the humanities and drama areas, not doing so well in the science and maths areas, that kind of place. I remember one Christmas, I’m guessing 1987, when about three hundred of us where herded into the assembly hall and as a special treat were shown a movie to round off the term – the film was ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off‘. It’s really only struck home that not only were our teachers showing us a film that championed truancy and a questioning of authority but it was also a 15 certificate and therefore the screening violated a few laws. Like I said, for the most part I quite enjoyed my school days. A few years later I remember insisting on staying at the cinema throughout the entire end credits of ‘Uncle Buck‘ with friends in case there was some post movie Bueller style postscript (there wasn’t and I’m still living that one down), along with Carpenter, Spielberg and Stan I guess Hughes was one of the first directors whose work I begin to follow with interest as an infant cineaste, as such he will always be fondly remembered in this quiet corner of the internet.
Whilst he won’t leave quite the legacy of a Kubrick or a Welles of course he was a consistently funny, fun film-maker whose works entered my generations vernacular – I and all my friends still quote from his movies often and this, or this, or these are common ground for anyone who came of age in the era of Thatcher and Regan. Sometimes movies can just be fun and put a smile on your face and in this he excelled, I’d argue that there is some sociological element to his films as well, those Chicago High Schools and suburbs certainly looked far more glamorous and remote to my fifteen year old eyes and it was quite reassuring to see the same dreadfully important issues (Why doesn’t that gorgeous girl from class 12B know I exist? God, I hate my parents!!, Is the bass-player of the Psychadelic Furs better than the bass-player of Tears For Fears? Gah, no-one understands me!!) being suffered by our associates across the pond even with their astronomical wealth and superpower optimism. In any case anytime, anyone wants a textbook definition of an 80’s movie they will be flipping to the ‘H’ section of their DVD library…or maybe the ‘F’.
I’m not so fond of ‘Sixteen Candles’ or ‘Pretty In Pink’ but then again I’m not a girl, ‘The Breakfast Club‘ felt oh so important and true back in the day (he said cringing over his keyboard) but it remains diverting enough and ‘Ferris Bueller‘ for me remains one of the finest comedies ever made. Heck, I still like the guy even after being inflicted, on a continuous loop, of having to watch the first ‘Home Alone’ seven or eight times a day during a Christmas season at the video shop I was working at the time, technically I’ve probably seen that film more than any other in my life. I’m going to give ‘Bueller’ another whirl this weekend and I hope that this jaded, cynical thirtysomething will still see him as a ‘righteous dude’ and not want to punch his privileged Mia-Sara boyfriends face down his smarmy throat. Here’s a curious link that I almost posted a few weeks ago, it makes a bloody good point – why didn’t Abe Froman turn up? Rest In Peace indeed Mr. Hughes and thank you so much for bringing some great laughs and delightful screen moments to a whole generation of eighties slackers….
Minty's Menagerie 
Recent Comments