A totally defensible time capsule of the John Hughes era, Pretty in Pink (written and produced by Hughes but directed by Howard Deutch) survives any patriarchal pandering on the strength of Molly Ringwald’s Andie. At 18, fairly freshly abandoned by her mother, caretaker for her loving but aimless father (Harry Dean Stanton), and on the literal wrong side of the tracks from the cool kids at her affluent suburban Chicago high school, Andie still holds her head high, designs her own extremely ’80s outfits, and finds companionship in Duckie (Jon Cryer), an equally boldly out of place New Waver who not-so-secretly pines for her. Duckie garnered much sympathy in 1986, but he’s cringier these days, with a bit of a stalker streak. Still, when Cryer eases up and lets Duckie’s vulnerability show, there’s an undeniable sweetness to the character. Ringwald, though, is the true wonder: Andie’s head is always held high—and she frequently backs that up with a self-empowering speech—but her facial expressions are constantly in flux, revealing the many other things she’s feeling: uncertainty, insecurity, her own vulnerability. Without these layers, Andie would be insufferable; with them, she’s raw and real. Speaking of insufferable, a young James Spader is purposely so as the unofficial president of the rich kids’ club (his yo-yo line readings predict his Robert California run on The Office). Meanwhile, Andrew McCarthy beams his laser blues at Ringwald as Blane, a preppie who falls for Andie, dumps her just before prom due to peer pressure, then issues what I contend is a genuine apology at the big event. (Should she have followed him into the parking lot in response? Let the debates begin!) With The Psychedelic Furs, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, INXS, The Smiths, Suzanne Vega, Thompson Twins, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark all featured on what is quite possibly the very best 1980s soundtrack.
