| Pretty in Pink | |
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North American film poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Deutch |
| Produced by | Lauren Shuler Jane Vickerilla (associate producer) Michael Chinich (executive producer) John Hughes (executive producer) |
| Written by | John Hughes |
| Starring | Molly Ringwald Andrew McCarthy Jon Cryer Harry Dean Stanton Annie Potts James Spader |
| Music by | Michael Gore |
| Cinematography | Tak Fujimoto |
| Editing by | Richard Marks |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | February 28, 1986 |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | US$40,471,663 (domestic) |
Pretty in Pink is a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film about teenage love and social cliques in 1980s American high schools. It is one of a group of John Hughes films starring Molly Ringwald, and is commonly identified as a "Brat Pack" film. The film was directed by Howard Deutch, produced by Lauren Shuler and written by John Hughes.
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High school senior Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) is a working class girl who has a crush on one of the rich, preppie boys in her school, Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy). When Andie and Blane try to get together, they encounter resistance from their respective social circles.
Andie lives on "the wrong side of the tracks" with her unemployed father (Harry Dean Stanton) who is still devastated by the breakup of his marriage to Andie's mother some years before. Andie's best friend, Phil "Duckie" Dale (Jon Cryer), is in love with her, but plays it off as a joke in front of her. In school, he and Andie are harassed by Blane's friends, the arrogant so-called "richie" kids Benny (Kate Vernon) and Steff (James Spader).
Andie works at TRAX, a New Wave music store in the Chinatown neighborhood, managed by her older friend and mentor Iona (Annie Potts). Iona advises Andie to go to her senior prom despite not having a date.
Soon, Blane makes his move via chatting in the computer lab, and Andie is smitten. Blane ventures out to the area at school where the punks, metalheads, and New Wavers hang out and asks Andie on a date. Steff — whose crude advances Andie had earlier rebuffed — begins questioning why his best friend "was conversing with a mutant," but Blane brushes him off.
On the Friday night of the date, Andie waits for Blane at TRAX, but he is late. Duckie arrives instead, only to find Andie upset because she thinks she's been stood up. When Blane finally arrives, Duckie and Andie argue. Duckie tries to convince her that Blane will only hurt her. After a few harsh words, Duckie storms out, and Andie goes on her date.
First, Blane suggests going to a party Steff is throwing but the party isn't exactly what Blane expected, and Andie is treated poorly by everyone, including a drunk Steff and Benny. Andie, in turn, suggests going to the local club, where they discover Iona sitting with Duckie. Duckie is immediately hostile toward Blane, and as he and Andie start walking out of the club, Duckie kisses a startled Iona.
Blane offers to take Andie home, but she finally admits she doesn't want him to see where she lives. He drops her off there anyway and they kiss; afterward he asks Andie to the prom. The next day, Andie visits Iona in her loft and Iona begins reminiscing about her own prom, donning her old pink prom dress, cute yellow fuzzy slippers and a beehive hairstyle.
At home, Andie's father surprises her with a pink dress he bought for her at the thrift shop. Questioning how he was able to afford it, Andie discovers he has been faking going to a full-time job. The two begin to fight until her father breaks down, obviously still bitter and depressed about his wife having left him.
Meanwhile Blane, pressured by Steff, begins distancing himself from Andie. He avoids her at school and doesn't return her calls until she finally confronts him. He claims that he had asked someone else to go to the prom with him before he'd asked her, but had forgotten. Andie runs away, heartbroken.
Andie finds Iona preparing for a date with a yuppie, dressing like a normal adult for a change. Iona is already thinking about marriage. Iona's newly found happiness inspires Andie. She decides to attend the prom, to "show them they didn't break me." Using both Iona's prom dress and the thrift shop dress her father bought her, she creates a new pink dress to wear to the prom.
When she gets to the prom, she has second thoughts about braving the crowd on her own. Just as it looks like she may back out, she sees Duckie, also dressed up. They walk into the ballroom hand in hand. When Steff begins mocking the couple, Blane finally realizes that Steff was interested in Andie himself, and finds the courage to tell him off, angrily saying that Andie is better than either of them will ever be. Blane shakes Duckie's hand and tells Andie that he always believed in her; he just didn't believe in himself. He says he'll always love her no matter what and leaves the prom. Duckie concedes that Blane is not like the other rich kids at school and advises Andie to go after him. After Andie leaves, a blonde girl (Kristy Swanson) notices Duckie and silently invites him to go over and dance with her.
Outside of the prom, Andie catches up with Blane in the parking lot just before he gets to his car, and they share a kiss.
John Hughes wrote the film screenplay early in 1985. Filming began on June 22, 1985 and ended on October 12, 1985.
Anthony Michael Hall was originally cast as Phil "Duckie" Dale, but turned the role down, fearing being typecast as a "geek". John Hughes tried later with Robert Downey Jr. for the part of Duckie. Ringwald helped the producers look for "Duckie" and the reason Downey Jr. wasn't chosen was because Ringwald could see herself falling for him. She wanted someone that she could never be attracted to--someone who seemed like he could be her brother, her best friend. And with Cryer she knew he was a perfect fit. He was "Duckie."
The part of Andie was originally written for Ringwald. John Hughes stated that he had her in mind while writing the script. When first asked Ringwald was reluctant, but after seeing how hard it was for the producers to find a replacement for her, she decided she would indeed portray Andie in the film. Hughes was very happy and knew that the film wouldn't be the same unless Molly, for whom it was written for, played the main character.
Anjelica Huston was originally offered the role of Iona, but turned it down to pursue another project. Annie Potts was chosen after Hughes saw her in Ghostbusters.
The film was a critical and commercial success.[1] Based on 29 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of critics gave Pretty in Pink a positive review.[2]
The film earned US$6,065,870 during its opening weekend and $40,471,663 during its theatrical run. It was the 22nd highest-grossing film in 1986.[3]
The main cast of Pretty in Pink was featured in the October 15, 2010 issue of Entertainment Weekly, which centered around cast reunions for landmark films and television shows.[4]
There is a reference to the movie in the Boston Legal episode "Witches of Mass Destruction". Alan Shore (played by James Spader, who also played Steff McKee in Pretty in Pink) tells Denny Crane (William Shatner), "Denny, you're pretty in pink", as they are both dressed in pink flamingos for a Halloween party.
In Psych's season 4 episode 11, "Thrill Seekers and Hell Raisers," Shawn (James Roday) claims that he and Gus (Dule Hill) are "like Andie and Duckie." Also, in season 3 episode 2, "Murder? … Anyone? … Anyone? … Bueller?," Shawn identifies a murder victim by relating the victim's situation to Duckie.
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