Pretty in Pink

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Pretty in Pink
North American film poster
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.

Plot

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, Jack (Harry Dean Stanton). 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 record 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, who never gets in. Duckie is immediately hostile toward Blane, and as he and Andie start walking out of the club, Duckie kisses a startled Iona to make Andie feel jealous.

Blane offers to take Andie home, but she refuses, admitting she doesn't want him to see where she lives. She eventually allows him to drop her off and he asks her to the prom. Andie accepts and they share their first kiss. 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, Jack 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 fight until Jack breaks down, revealing that he is still bitter and depressed about his wife having left him.

Meanwhile Blane, pressured by Steff, begins distancing himself from Andie. Finally, Andie confronts him for avoiding her at school and not returning her calls. Blane then claims that he'd already asked somebody to the prom but had forgotten, and Andie replies by calling him a "filthy, fucking, no-good liar". She then accuses him of being ashamed of being seen with her because his friend would not approve. She runs away while Blane protests that she does not understand, and it has nothing to do with her. As Blane leaves, Steff again offers criticism of Andie. Duckie overhears this and attacks Steff in the hallway. The two fight before teachers break them up and Duckie runs off, tearing down a prom banner in the process.

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, who is also dressed up. Regarding his tux, he says, "Despite my appearance at this function, I remain now and will always be... a duck man." They then walk into the ballroom hand in hand. When Steff begins mocking the couple, Blane finally realizes that Steff resents Andie because, although Steff had tried to get with Andie, she refused, which was something Steff was not used to. Blane finds the courage to tell Steff off, and approaches Andie and Duckie. He shakes Duckie's hand and confesses to Andie that he always believed in her; he just didn't believe in him. He tells her he loves her and kisses her cheek before saying, "Always". Duckie concedes that Blane is not like the other rich kids at school and advises Andie to go after him. After Andie leaves, a girl in the crowd (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, and they do a kiss in front of his car.

Cast

• Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh, the central character.
• Jon Cryer as Philip F. "Duckie" Dale
• Andrew McCarthy as Blane McDonough
• Harry Dean Stanton as Jack Walsh
• Annie Potts as Iona
• James Spader as Steff McKee, the central adversary.
• Kate Vernon as Benny Hanson
• Andrew Dice Clay as Bouncer at CATS
• Kristy Swanson as Duckette
• Alexa Kenin as Jenna
• Dweezil Zappa as Simon
• Gina Gershon as Trombley, Girl Friend / Gym Class

Soundtrack

Production

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

This section requires expansion.

John Hughes wrote the film screenplay early in 1985. Filming began on June 22, 1985 and ended on October 12, 1985.

Casting

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 oh-so easily fall 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." Because Molly Ringwald didn't find him sexually attractive.

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 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.

Reaction

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]

In popular culture

• In the Boston Legal episode "Witches of Mass Destruction". Alan Shore (Spader) 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 episode 4.11, "Thrill Seekers and Hell Raisers," Shawn (James Roday) claims that he and Gus (Dule Hill) are "like Andie and Duckie." Also, in 3.2, "Murder? … Anyone? … Anyone? … Bueller?," Shawn identifies a murder victim by relating the victim's situation to Duckie.
• According to Glee creator Ryan Murphy, the character Blaine Anderson was named after Blane in Pretty in Pink.

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Pretty in Pink

• Pretty in Pink at the Internet Movie Database
• Pretty in Pink at AllRovi