Some Kind of Wonderful

The movie with the ending Pretty In Pink should have had!
This 80's John Hughes gem wasn't as popular as some of his other movies (Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty In Pink), which is a shame because it's every bit as good as those flicks, if not better. The plot of Pretty In Pink is sort of rehashed here: a teen from the poor side of town (Eric Stoltz subbing for Molly Ringwald), has got eyes for a popular teen (Lea Thompson subbing for Andrew McCarthy), and has a free-thinkin', seemingly gay best friend of the opposite gender (Mary Stuart Masterson subbing for Jon Cryer) that winds up being the person they should end up with. There's even the token jerk that causes problems for everyone (Craig Sheffer subbing for James Spader.)

The original ending of Pretty In Pink was changed after test audiences said they would rather Molly Ringwald's character end up with Andrew McCarthy's, instead of Jon Cryer's. (Wrong! At least in my opinion.) They got it right in "Some Kind Of Wonderful." What a great 80's...

Break His Heart and I'll Break Your Face ... Memorable Line!
This was the most memorable line in the whole movie... when the tom girl in love with her best guy friend tells the popular girl to watch out! Hmmm... this should have been a signal that she was a keeper. The 80's was really captured in this movie and it signals the genres theme of teenage turmoil in a greedy decade. I'm glad the best friends ended up together. Sometimes it's true that our feelings run deep and we have no idea until a rival comes along.

Wonderful 80's Film
1987's Some Kind Of Wonderful is a gender-revised version of 1986's Pretty In Pink. Eric Stoltz takes the place of Molly Ringwald and Lea Thompson & Mary Stuart Masterson do the same for Andrew McCarthy & Jon Cryer. Mr. Stoltz plays Keith a loner, artistic type who works at a garage and whose best friend is a tom girl, drummer Watts played by Ms. Masterson. Keith pines after Amanda Jones (Ms. Thompson), one of the most popular girls in school. Amanda dates the spoiled rich boy Hardy Jenns (Craig Sheffer) and after they fight, Keith swoops in and asks Amanda for a date, to which she agrees. Keith finds out that the whole date is just a setup to get him to Jenns' house so he can beat him up, he still continues with the date. He sets an elaborate evening, dinner at a fancy restaurant, art museum after hours and a set of diamond earrings. It turns out that Amanda isn't some spoiled rich girl, but a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who sold herself out for popularity...

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