I was going to title this post As Goes John Hughes, So Goes My Childhood. It's got a nice flow to it, but it's not very accurate and a tad dramatic. It might make more sense if Hughes was still making movies the likes of Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Breakfast Club. But he's not and hasn't for a long time.
What I probably liked best about Hughes is that he gave teenagers a voice. No doubt he probably made them smarter than they actually were, or prettier than they actually were, or deeper than they actually were. But for the first time in my cinema going history, I saw teenagers come out from the background and stand front and center.
To me a John Hughes film represents what a film experience should be. An escape. Pure and simple. No one looked at things with rosier colored glasses. In his world, the smartass outsmarts the principle. The geek ends up with the Prom Queen. And yes indeed, you can create Kelly LeBrock from your computer. And it doesn't matter how old I've gotten. Or jaded. Or cynical. When I'm in his world, I believe it all. Because it's a lot more fun to do so.
Early on in the history of this blog, I wrote my very first Blog-A-Thon post for Lucas McNelly's 100 Films. I wrote it about John Hughes and the love/hate relationship I've had with him while growing up. It seems a fitting homage to his career and what it meant to me.
What I probably liked best about Hughes is that he gave teenagers a voice. No doubt he probably made them smarter than they actually were, or prettier than they actually were, or deeper than they actually were. But for the first time in my cinema going history, I saw teenagers come out from the background and stand front and center.
To me a John Hughes film represents what a film experience should be. An escape. Pure and simple. No one looked at things with rosier colored glasses. In his world, the smartass outsmarts the principle. The geek ends up with the Prom Queen. And yes indeed, you can create Kelly LeBrock from your computer. And it doesn't matter how old I've gotten. Or jaded. Or cynical. When I'm in his world, I believe it all. Because it's a lot more fun to do so.
Early on in the history of this blog, I wrote my very first Blog-A-Thon post for Lucas McNelly's 100 Films. I wrote it about John Hughes and the love/hate relationship I've had with him while growing up. It seems a fitting homage to his career and what it meant to me.
DAMN YOU JOHN HUGHES
Thanks ddadmin,
ReplyDeleteI'll check out all the stuff.
Three words: Planes, Trains, Automobiles.
ReplyDeleteAll of his lesser movies are totally forgiven.
Hughes is the stuff of legends, a Rosetta Stone, even if only a select few decide to actually make movies like his, the right way.
Until I read your post, I hadn't realized that he hadn't made a film in so long. Curly Sue? I wasn't even ten years old when that came out! Hopefully, he was living off of all that Home Alone money, having a great life while it lasted.
ReplyDeleteelgringo,
ReplyDeleteI think he had done just fine for himself. Unfortunately, I think he made a whole slew of money on writing some really bad films. Like Baby's Day Out.