Remembering John Hughes

Posted on by Matt Wardlaw

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I’ll offer apologies in advance for the tardiness of this particular item, with a slight bit of reasoning and explanation for the lateness to follow later in this piece.  As a child of the 80s,  I’ve spent quite a few moments deep in thought since John Hughes passed away.  When Hughes passed, I had plenty of thoughts, but I was in the midst of a typically busy week that wouldn’t allow time for me to properly stop down to get my thoughts out there.

And where do you begin?

I’ve always been a huge fan, but when I heard that John Hughes was gone, I started to think about how much Hughes had personally made impact on my world with his films.  The DVD format finally made it affordable to collect your favorite films, and as I looked at my DVD collection, I counted about 15 classic Hughes flicks among the titles, with an additional laundry list of movies that I still want to own.

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I spent time wondering how many filmmakers of our generation have touched multiple generations in the way that John Hughes did with his movies.  I watched The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Pretty in Pink as a kid, developing an instant lifelong crush on Molly Ringwald that still lives within present day me, as the one that would still like to spend some time with 1985-era Molly.  Dad and I laughed until our sides hurt watching Hughes flicks like Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors, and especially Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.

Christmas Vacation.  Dad and I watch this one at least once a year, whether it is Christmastime, or a random evening in June.  This past Christmas, I went to pull Christmas Vacation for our annual holiday viewing, and discovered that it had gone missing.  It was time to go off to Target, to purchase a replacement copy.  As for that second copy?  Wherever it is, it will turn up eventually, and I’ll pass it on to the next person that I encounter, that hasn’t seen Christmas Vacation.

Believe it or not, those people do exist.  How can you make it 20 years without seeing Christmas Vacation?  I’m not sure, but I’m always on the mission to make sure that those people right that wrong with an instant and mandatory viewing.

Shortly after I moved here in 1989, one of my church friends asked me if I had seen Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Sure, hasn’t everyone?

I couldn’t figure out why he was asking me what seemed like an extremely odd question.  I answered yes, and he informed me that the parents of Alan Ruck, a.k.a. Cameron in the Ferris flick, were local residents that attended our church.  Since Ferris was one of my favorite flicks, I completely geeked out, and spent some quality time asking his parents questions about their famous son.  And as it turns out, he is just a normal guy.  Go figure.

Music.  Soundtracks in the 80s were so great, and I challenge you to find a single person that grew up in the 80s, that didn’t own a copy of The Breakfast Club soundtrack.  Is there anyone that hears “Don’t You Forget About Me,” without associating it with The Breakfast Club?  “If You Were Here” is the 80s Thompson Twins nugget that makes you think of Sixteen Candles, and “Pretty in Pink” generates thoughts of the movie of the same name, and also should make you think once again, “God, the Psychedelic Furs are a great band.”  Hughes inspired an entire future generation of music supervisors with the perfectly crafted movie soundtracks loaded with hit after future hit that accompanied many of his films.

These are the thoughts that were swirling through my head around the time that D.X. Ferris from Scene Magazine, got in touch with me on the weekend following the death of Hughes to ask if I’d be interested in a piece for the blog.  As a fellow huge fan of the John Hughes body of work, Ferris had some thoughts that he wanted to share.  And of course, I shot right back and said “sure, I’d LOVE to have a piece from you!”

The weekend passed, and D.X.’s piece now was a fully researched/fact checked 3,000 word monster that had grown beyond a simple blog item into a piece that clearly had a potential place elsewhere.

Sincerely, is the title of this week’s Scene Magazine cover story on John Hughes, a piece that summarizes Hughes’ career from a unique angle:

Even if your prom took place 25 years ago, Hughes’ less renowned movies depict situations that could have happened to you this year. Whether they told tales of isolated preteens or aging parents, his work was a dense cavalcade of quotable lines, memorable scenes, prescient musical choices and you-saw-them-here-first casting. Look closely, and John Hughes’ 1980s movies take place in present tense.

The piece is a wonderful read, and you can read the whole thing here.

While you’re reading it, I’d suggest that you should check out Darth Mojo’s brilliantly assembled “soundtrack” for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

P.S.

To John,

Thanks so much.

For everything.

clevescenehughes

Above:  Cover image for this week’s Scene Magazine cover story

32 Comments on “Remembering John Hughes”

  3. What a great tribute Matt, thank you for taking the time to think about what you had to say and then putting it down for us to read.

    When I heard he had passed I of course instantly thought of all of his movies that played throughout my young adult years and now I am remembering the music.

    The connection should have been obvious so thank you for reminding me of what great music he introduced me to as well.

  7. What a great tribute Matt, thank you for taking the time to think about what you had to say and then putting it down for us to read.

    When I heard he had passed I of course instantly thought of all of his movies that played throughout my young adult years and now I am remembering the music.

    The connection should have been obvious so thank you for reminding me of what great music he introduced me to as well.

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