There are a lot of time honored debates in the universe.
Is Hobbes really alive or just a stuffed tiger? (alive)
Who’s a better captain, Kirk or Picard? (Picard - more entertaining might be another story...)
Should Molly Ringwald have dumped that spoiled rich kid and given Duckie a try in PRETTY IN PINK?
Well, the answer to that question was answered in the almost unheard of final teen1 movie to come from John Hughes. A little film called SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL. (if you haven’t seen, stop now, GO, watch it, call me if you can’t find it and you can borrow my copy, go ahead, I’ll wait...)
So I would like to turn all of you (my faithful readership) onto this film, but first I would like to turn back the clock and look at why Pretty in Pink is by far the more popular film. It still is today, even by those who weren’t even born when it was released...
First off, inexplicably, Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy were much bigger box office draws than Eric Stoltz and Lea Thompson (granted this was right after Howard the Duck!) The soundtrack absolutely rocked and OMD’s “If you Leave” got almost as much airplay as Lady Gaga does now (ALL of her songs combined!). It was more of a comedy (despite the fact that advertising billed it as “the laughter the lovers the friends the fights the talk the hurt the jalousy the passion the pressure the real world) , and that humor was what John Hughes had made the most of the eighties out of. That, and Molly was pretty much a John Hughes staple.
I would like to point out that Hughes did not direct either of these films, Howard Deutch did, but I’ll get to that later.
Ultimately though, it was the fact that Pretty in Pink is much more of a fairy tale (ala Cinderella) than it’s sibling film.
Let’s consider the original ending to PRETTY WOMAN. I worked for the producer of that film as a script-reader. His assistant producer was a beautiful and smart woman. When she told me she preferred the original ending to Pretty Woman to what was on the screen, I give her credibility.
The original ending to Pretty Woman went something along the lines of Richard Gere dumping Julia Roberts back off at her apartment complex in Hollywood, and throwing her money on top of her. She angrily grabs the dollars fluttering around her throwing it after him as he is driving off and screaming “you wouldn’t know what real love is if it bit you in the @$$!!” (which was true, his character really was pretty much incapable of trust or genuine feelings by this point in his spoiled rich life). She grabs up the bills, storms into her apartment, grabs her messed up roommate, throws her in the VW bug and the two of them leave hooking behind to start life anew (with their new found windfall to set them up) in Bakersfield.
The rest of Pretty Woman actually is leading towards this ending. The tacked on “climbing up the ladder despite my fear of heights” proof of his courage never rung true for me (perhaps because of the private jet he didn’t seem to have any problem looking out the window on). In any case, it’s a character plot point that was given lip service once (or twice) and then serves as the crux of the climax.
Thrillsville...
However the movie was a huge hit, and that was obviously the ending audiences wanted to see. Ironically, Julia Roberts would actually correct this when she starred in MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING, but then we did get to see the guy she lost hook up with CAMERON DIAZ, hardly a sad way to end the flick...
Pretty in Pink arrived at it’s happy ending much more satisfyingly, however it was an even more last minute decision than Pretty Woman was. The original ending to Pretty Woman was never shot. Pretty in Pink got all the way to test screenings, and it fell flat. Originally, Duckie and Andie to to the prom despite Blaine’s dumping of her and have a charming evening in front of their antagonists despite all the crud every one else in that school had dumped on them (note, she didn’t fall for Duckie, but recognized better a true friend than a two-faced boyfriend)
A few things contributed to the original ending falling flat:
- Molly Ringwald didn’t have any chemistry for Jon Cryer. She had originally heard that Robert Downey Jr. was cast in the role and that’s why she took it (she would later rectify this with the PICK UP ARTIST...what movie is that do you ask? Good question, I don’t know either, I saw it and forgot it before I left the theater...)
- The test audiences wanted to see Andie get with the “cute guy”, or, as I prefer to think of it, they wanted her to have the guy she really liked the whole movie and wanted something to go right for her. The fact that there is obviously a contingent that wasn’t as satisfied with this outcome is undeniable considering Cryer still has people stop him on the street telling him he got robbed! And it’s not just nerdy guys, at the People’s Choice Awards a couple of years ago when he and Charlie took awards for TWO and HALF MEN, a whole plethora of women in the front of the audience screamed at him “WE LOVE YOU DUCKIE!!!!”
- John Hughes came up with a brilliant last minute save. He let Duckie be the one to encourage Andie to give Blaine another chance. Blaine was never overtly self-centered throughout the film, he was however, like his name suggests, rather BLAND (like an appliance). He had no real internal strength, it was that strength that attracted him to Andie in the first place. Standing up to James Spader’s character, and apologizing, AND being alone at the prom were actually as sincere a gesture as Blaine was capable of making, given what we knew of him, which wasn’t much, which is my big annoyance with the film, we just don’t anything about Blaine except he’s rich, cute and not as bad a jerk as James Spader, which is like saying a black widow isn’t as dangerous as a rattlesnake...as an audience member, I’m not sure he’s good enough for Andie based on those virtues, however it’s not about HIM it’s about ANDIE’s dream come true. By the way, James Spader was fabulously vile and supercilious in this film, a stellar debut to the big film leagues (not counting the New Kids).
It was enough, the audience bought it, and the isolated dark lighting in the mist (which was to conceal the hastily set up sound stage and Andrew McCarthy’s wig) were poignant enough to leave us awash in Andie’s little wrong side of the tracks world being just a little bit magical for a moment locked in time.
And Duckie got to dance off with KRISTY SWANSON (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER the movie) The better end of the deal anyway IMHO. Duckie had to get something, because, let’s face it, 20+ years later we still love him. He had a tremendous amount of screen time in the film (far more than Blaine, who was merely an object of desire) and Duckie was pretty much the source of all the comedy in the movie, which is what people went to go see in a John Hughes film in the first place. I don’t know if the Duckie character was supposed to occupy so much of the film originally, but I think Jon Cryer’s performance is such a stand out in the movie (the record store dancing is a show stopper, you know you’re good when Jack Black apes on your schtick).
I think this off balance of traditional roles in a teen angst romance ultimately contributes to it’s memorableness. It’s a little off kilter, but not in a bad way. It’s that offbeat energy that saves it from being a by the numbers Cinderella-ish story.
Because if Blaine is bland, Andie is too rock solid (like the Andies mountains? I’m stretching here...I guess she could be sweet like the candy too) There is not a flaw in this girl. She is totally defined by the challenges she has in her very flawed life (mother left, dad’s a drunken depressed mess, her best friend / boss Annie Potts is 30 going on 13 and boy crazy and rather charmingly nutty at that, and she withstands the constant berating of the “richies”, the constant love him / hate him friendship with Duckie and gets good grades AND makes her own fashion style with handmade clothes from thrift stores
YAARRRGH! Could even kryptonite stop this kid? You get my point. Andie is perfect. She helps her dad to let go of her mom, and suffers so much through it by having to relive the hurt herself in the process. She ultimately let's Blaine (deservedly) have it, and it's Molly Ringwald's best moment in the film) By then you’re really cheering her on for that anger and sadness release. You pretty much think that what little she vents off is not nearly enough compared to her suffering. She’s way too forgiving, kind, patient....well you get my drift.
It’s a little difficult to connect with someone like that. We admire and feel sympathy for her, but I don’t know if I felt like I really could invest in her story as much as I wanted to. Maybe it has to do with being a guy, maybe it has to do with the fact that I still wonder WHAT did Andie see in Blaine? Apparently the same thing Molly saw in Andrew and the audience saw too...they were "cute".
Kind of reminds of the Little Mermaid
ARIEL: "Daddy, I love him!"
TRITON: "No it's too dangerous, they EAT us."
ARIEL: "Fine them I've going to sell my soul to the wicked witch of the sea, because he's cute! That's what upstanding bright young Princesses do!"2
I'm not saying Blaine is a bad guy, but after re-watching this AGAIN last night with my wife, I actually didn't see the two character's connecting. Mostly we see Blaine covering and apologizing for his family and friends. I certainly didn't see anything in Blaine that I thought would truly make him worthy or attractive to Andy by the end.
In fact most of the movie is a little two-dimensional, especially when stacked up against SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL...
...to be continued
1A note, John Hughes hated, and rightfully so, the use of the word “teen” as if it were a genre. Why is a teen romance different than a romance? Aren’t teen-agers just people who happen to be aged in early double digits? (yes I realize this discussion is up for some debate but just go with it).
