PRETTY IN PINK: Blu-ray (Paramount, 1986) Paramount Home Video

Any movie to make us believe all a savvy high school senior, aspiring to be the belle of the ball at her prom needs is an understanding single father, a pink dress – hand-stitched in true Cinderella fashion of yore – and an understanding male friend, of a certain age, temperament and unrequited romantic longing for our tangled and teased heroine, has my vote for the ‘feel good’ of the decade. And so it was with Howard Deutch’s Pretty in Pink (1986) a movie long overdue for rediscovery that, in many ways, feels very much like a John Hughes’ picture instead -and, little wonder, since Hughes wrote it, and, it stars that unlikeliest of pop princesses featured prominently in Hughes’ best loved classics, Sixteen Candles (1984) and The Breakfast Club (1985) – Molly Ringwald. Few actresses of any generation possess that ‘Judy Garland’ quality; an uncanny ability to make us care, not only about the characters they play, but the woman lurking just beneath these fictional facades. Garland was the template. Ringwald, a disciple, perhaps. Julia Roberts another. Whatever it is, it remains an intangible quality – untrained and cannot be taught, observed or honed, however finely qualified the thespian. Without it, you remain a good, solid actress relying wholly on your craft to see you through. But with it, the camera never lies. Moreover, it has the ability to snuff out and separate the frauds from the intuitively meant to be famous. And thus, with Ringwald as our star, Pretty in Pink arrives at a precipice of palpable joy, caught full in the eyes and exasperated sighs of Ringwald’s alter ego, Andie Walsh; a girl of so many unrefined qualities, eager to be noticed by the only boy she admires who, presently, does not even know she is alive.

Pretty in Pink travails some very familiar territory of the teenage angst ilk, but with incredible deftness and sincerity for its subject matter.  Arguably, Hughes never forgot his own painfully awkward teenage years as the put-upon Poindexter, insecure about dating, girls, and, his own masculinity. Transposing these feelings of social inadequacy, Hughes managed to tap a vein, highly personal to him, though hardly foreign to the rest of us. Not only did its cross sexual boundaries, but in the status-conscious eighties, it as much illustrated no walk of life was immune to these real, shared, and, as easily dispatched insecurities, given over to a little faith in ourselves and more than a little help from our friends.  As a teenager growing up in the 1980’s, John Hughes got to me. He seemed uncannily to be able to look behind the façade we all put up to cope with growing up. Moreover, he had the intuition to suggest the circumstances were neither unique nor as devastating, and, in the final moments of every John Hughes’ movie, to be revealed as a deeper understanding of the ‘selves’ kept mostly hidden from view to the outside world – lest we be judged as having slipped in others’ estimations from that largely manufactured representation.  Pretty in Pink is a joyful movie, not so much because it speaks to our wish fulfillment for a happy ending for the underdog, but rather, because it presents our heroine with insurmountable odds that, from a distance, become inconsequential to her personal investment in that eternal search for happiness.   

Originally, Pretty in Pink was to have concluded with Andie and her best friend, Philip F. ‘Duckie’ Dale (the spectacularly gifted Jon Cryer) ending up together. Alas, a test screening proved audiences wanted the fairy-tale – Cryer’s best friend, a wan ghost flower substitute for Andie’s true love. And thus, Ringwald’s princess-in-the-making would end up with her ideal Prince Charming - Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy). There was some genuine consternation in Paramount’s executive offices about the original ending too, as it reinstated the unspoken classist rule, more readily accepted in the U.K. than the U.S., to infer poor people should never aspire to fall in love with the rich, but rather, stick to their own kind.  As the pop band, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark had previously selected ‘Goddess of Love’ – already a hit on their album, The Pacific Age, the revisions now demanded a fresh tune to accompany the moment when Andie realizes all her fateful desires are about to come true. Reportedly, OMD band members, Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys and Martin Cooper wrote the now iconic, ‘If You Leave’ on less than 24-hours’ notice, recording it in just under a day to be fitted into the newly re-shot Andie/Blane finale. Whatever the truth in this, the song became immediately identified with the movie, rising to #4 on Billboard’s ranking, a favorite at virtually every high school prom for several years to follow. The movie also went on to be considered as part of the ‘brat pack’ canon, its title tune, supplied by The Psychedelic Furs.

Plot wise, the story is intensely focused on high school senior and wall flower, Andie Walsh who, not unlike Diane Keaton and her eclectic ensembles to have graced several Woody Allen rom/coms of the mid-seventies, is, made up herein of Molly Ringwald’s on-the-spot raid of too many pick-n’-saves, mashed together with a mid-fifties’1950’s garage sale; a fashion acumen that , even for its time, left a good deal to be desired. Andie lives with her underemployed working-class father, Jack (Harry Dean Stanton) in a Chicago suburb. Andie's best friend, Duckie Dale – nicknamed for his haircut – is the proverbial outsider, desperately in love with Andie, but as terrified to confide his truest feelings, for fear of wrecking their friendship. In 1986, I could sincerely relate, as just to be near Molly Ringwald, even from afar, was as close to nirvana as any mere mortal might hope to get. But I digress. In school, Duckie and Andie, along with their friends, are mercilessly intimidated by the overconfident preppies; the shallow, Benny Hanson (Kate Vernon) and her snobbish boyfriend, Steff McKee (James Spader). McKee’s desire to humiliate Andie actually stems from his secret attraction to her, rebuked by Andie and thus, to be considered his revenge. After all, who is this gutter-town waif to think she could sidestep a stud like him and live to feel good about herself? Andie works after school at TRAX, a new wave record store. The shop’s manager, Iona (Annie Potts) is the understanding sort. Indeed, we would all wish for our bosses to be as considerate, and, as off the wall. Thus, when Andie confides her strong desire to attend the senior prom, but worries because she has nothing to wear, Iona inspires Andie to make her own dress and attend anyway – even though she has no date for the big event. Meanwhile, the boy Andie secretly pines after, Blane McDonough, alas a preppy too, and, Steff's best friend, suddenly begins to take an interest in her.

Date night comes. But Blane is late picking Andie up from TRAX. This leads Duckie to infer to Andie she has been stood up. Already feeling insecure, Andie is given a pep talk by Iona. Now, Blane arrives, apologizing for his tardiness. Wounded, Duckie stirs a confrontation to end when Andie refuses to accept Blane will only hurt her in the end. Belligerent, Duckie storms off and Andie begrudgingly leaves on her date with Blane. Alas, it is a bad omen for the night as Blane elects to take Andie to Steff’s house party. Predictably, Andie finds herself the proverbial ‘fish out of water’, mistreated by virtually everybody, but especially by an inebriated Steff and Benny, who are amused by Blane’s interest in this girl whom they otherwise regard as a social reject. Having had quite enough of Blane’s clique, Andie suggests a change of venue to a local club she frequents. Alas, the pendulum of insults swings in the other direction when, upon their arrival at the club, Andie discovers Duckie in consult with Iona. Again, Duckie is openly hostile towards Blane. After another heated exchange, Andie and Blane leave. Andie, at first, asks Blane to take her home, but then refuses to allow him to see where she lives – embarrassed by her meager circumstances. Reluctantly, she permits him to drop her off in front of the house and he, completely smitten by now, impetuously asks her to the prom. Andie accepts and the two share their first innocent kiss. Alas, while Andie’s euphoria causes Iona to raise a few red flags, Blane, goaded by Steff and Benny, begins to socially distance himself from Andie – more concerned about ‘his image’.

Desperate to make good on his daughter’s big night, Jack surprises Andie with a pink dress he paid retail. However, knowing her father has been lying about going to a full-time job, Andie questions where he found the money to pay for it. A father/daughter row ensues, quelled when Jack breaks down, revealing his lingering bitterness and depression over Andie’s mum having walked out on them. The next day, Andie confronts Blane for avoiding her. Unable to distance himself from his fair-weather friends, Blane coolly lies to Andie about having another date for the prom. But Andie is having none of it. She calls out Blane as a liar and tells him the real reason he is being a jerk is because he is ashamed to be seen with her in Steff and Benny’s presence.  Departing in anger, Andie does not see Blane as teary-eyed, enduring another of Steff’s crude insults as she passes. Defending her honor, Duckie ambushes Steff in the hallway. Shocked by the assault, the two are parted by teachers. Now, Andie goes to Iona for advice, also, to beg her to let her have her old prom dress. Using the fabric, and her own ingenuity, Andie creates a unique pink confection to wear to the prom. Arriving unchaperoned, Andie begins to get cold feet until she sees Duckie waiting for her. The two are reconciled and walk into the ballroom proudly together.

Finally realizing how much he cares for Andie, and also, Steff’s condemnation of her is wholly based on her rejection of him, Blane approaches the couple on the dance floor, extending his hand in friendship to Duckie before humbling himself to Andie. He tells Andie he always believed in her and always will love her. Gingerly kissing her cheek as a gesture of farewell, Blane retreats from the party. Alas, Duckie has had a change of heart too. Knowing Andie will never feel for him the way she does for Blane, Duckie sheepishly admits Blane is not like the other preppies. He is, instead, just the sort of upstanding good guy he would wish for his best friend. Andie can trust him. Armed with Duckie’s blessing and advice, Andie leaves the prom to pursue her intended. From across the crowded ballroom, Duckie spies a very hot girl (Kristy Swanson) sweetly beckoning him to the dance floor. So, all is not lost for the lovelorn. Meanwhile, Andie catches up to Blane in the parking lot. The two are reconciled and share another, more heartfelt kiss.

Pretty in Pink is justly remembered as a charming 'coming of age' fantasy rom/com for the pubescent sect – just the sort of feather-weight programmer to assuage adolescent fears about ever finding Ms. or Mr. Right. Despite its more adult-themed backstory, critics were not immediately enamored with the results, believing the picture had tried to copy and bottle the magic of Sixteen Candles, but to lesser effect. Arguably, the best moments in Pretty in Pink are a slight regurgitation from that John Hughes’ classic, relying on nothing more than pang glances between the stock characters of a boy and a girl – each, desperately longing for the other’s touch – and yet, somehow, unable to bring themselves to the threshold of a true confession based on their otherwise transparent mutual attraction. It is in these awkward moments, for which Hughes’ screenwriting authorship and Deutch’s direction conspire to unearth a common ground dilemma afflicting all adolescence, that Pretty in Pink arguably excels above and beyond those aforementioned offerings. Even so, one senses Hughes’ stamina scraping the barrel from Sixteen Candles to reinvent the tale ever so slightly here. What is different is Molly Ringwald’s interpretation of the heroine.

Whereas, her character in Sixteen Candles, Samantha, was supremely contented, merely to get the senior of her dreams, Jake (Michael Schoeffling) to take an interest in her, Ringwald’s Andie in Pretty in Pink is more circumspect about men in general, and one in particular; also, mature enough to handle the sway of her own desires, particularly if the dream gets rejected.  The West Side Story-ish plot to Pretty in Pink – girl from the wrong side of the tracks meets WASP with a Beamer – with a bit of John Alden thrown in for good measure, is also a bit overwrought in spots. But it nevertheless clicks as it should, and undeniably did with audiences back in ’86. Arguably, the one ill-fated bit of casting here is James Spader who, at age 26, looks it, and, lends an unintentionally pedophiliac vibe to his skulking about high school hallways. Creepy! That said, the picture is mostly direct about that pubertal dread of rejection, and, has some great one-liners to recommend it. If nothing else, Pretty in Pink remains the exemplar for a certain archetype in picture-making, likely never to grow old because, thematically, the premise is endlessly revive-able. Boy meets girl. Boy acts like a jerk and loses girl. Boy steps up to the plate, reforms and becomes the sort of man the girl always knew he could be. Ah me, chivalry is not dead. Nor, arguably, is it ever likely to fall out of fashion. Neither has Pretty in Pink. It still makes me blush with rose-colored longing for the 1980’s.

Pretty in Pink arrives on Blu-ray via Paramount Home Video and it is about time. For one reason or another – none disclosed to the public – Paramount has held this not-so-deep catalog title hostage in their vaults for far too long. The wait, arguably, has been worth it. Pretty in Pink has received a new remastering effort and the results are wonderful to say the least. Not only does the image appear quite sumptuous in its color densities and saturation, but contrast is excellent. Grain is perfectly preserved. In projection, this one just looks like I remember it, with subtle improvements to overall image clarity and sharpness. Truly, there is nothing to complain about here. Neither in the audio, a 5.1 DTS re-envisioning of the original Dolby stereo. It sounds as good as it looks. Extras include the ‘original lost dance’ featurette and theatrical trailer, as well as a brief and newly recorded ‘Filmmaker’s Focus’ with Howard Deutch waxing briefly, plus an isolated score. So, prepare for a time warp – for those of us fortunate enough to have lived through the eighties. For those as yet unprepared for a decade far more liberated than our present epoch, the infectious joy to be had here is likely to warm the heart and kick-start a renaissance for John Hughes’ back-catalog. Wonderful stuff. Great disc. Buy with confidence. Treasure forever. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark…anyone?

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

3.5

VIDEO/AUDIO

5

EXTRAS

0