John Hughes, the multi-talented director, producer, and writer died Thursday of a heart attack while walking in Manhattan where he was visiting family. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of 80's movies so his death hits me hard. The real reason I am paying tribute to John Hughes in this post is not because I felt he spoke directly to me (and I wanted to marry Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles) but because John Hughes gave us wonderful coming-of-age movies that were sweet and funny and celebrated geeks and misfits. The women in these films that the geeks idolized weren't just pretty, they were smart, funny and very loyal friends (think Andie and Duckie in Pretty in Pink).
His work includes Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Weird Science, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, National Lampoon's Vacation, and my youngest daughter's "new" favorite (even though it premiered in 1990) Home Alone, just to name a few. But I have to tell you about the one movie Hughes made that really touched my heart - it 
premiered in 1988 (when I was a Junior in college) and years later, now that I have daughters, I watched it again with a whole new set of eyes... She's Having A Baby. The story of a newlywed couple (Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern) and their journey into suburbia and parenthood. It contains one of the great Hughes' quotes which I think parents connect with... "And in the end, I realized that I took more than I gave, I was trusted more than I trusted, and I was loved more than I loved. And what I was looking for was not to be found but to be made."
He seemed to know his audience and it was like he was listening in on teenager's phone calls. He took an interest in our youth and he even ended up having a very nice pen pal relationship with a young lady who wrote about his loss on her blog and let's us know that John Hughes really DID care about those of us he was producing and directing films for.
So let me know your favorite John Hughes movie quote or memorable Hughes film that affected your life. As Ferris Bueller's character says.... "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
- Kristin Flannery
Click here for more of Kristin's posts.
Comments