So a couple days ago I stumbled across a showing of "Some Kind of Wonderful" on one of those lame channels that has an approximately 1 to 1 ratio of Show to Commercial. Now I loves me some Some Kind of Wonderful (although I always forget the name, and so have not seen it on video nearly enough - or at all). Anyway, as I was watching the dribs and drabs they fed me between obnoxiously long commercial breaks I began to think 'hey, I haven't seen this movie straight through in, say, 20 years, but didn't that scene seem to end before it logically should have done?' That thought was then repeated at regular intervals, along with some random musings as regards the similarity of SKoW's Duncan and Weevil on Veronica Mars, until my thoughts finally wound around to 'hey - why don't I own this excellent classic film of my youth?'
So there I am, on Amazon.com, finding out that the Special Collector's Edition (I don't even know) of said classic film of my youth is available to me for a mere $9.99 plus shipping and handling. Then, since I'm compulsive about reviews, I have to read what previous purchasers had to say, and, lo, the very first one was pointing out that this was basically John Hughes remake of Pretty in Pink, but restoring his original ending.
WHAT!?!?!?!
So then I go to the source of all definitive knowledge - Wikipedia - and confirm that, yes - right there under trivia:
"In Hughes' original [Pretty in Pink] script, Andie and Duckie ended up together, but due to pressure, Hughes had to change the ending so that Andie and Blane ended up together. The producers worried that the ending might come across as elitist. Ringwald, who was very sick during the shooting for the original ending and therefore didn't like how those scenes turned out, also objected to the original ending because she viewed Duckie as more of a brother than a love interest."
I've whined for years that Duckie is sooooooo much cooler than Blane! This is like finding out that Louisa May Alcott *wanted* Laurie and Jo together, but was forced by her publishers to put Laurie and Amy together. (I will never be over Laurie and Jo not getting married. Never. I'm convinced I reread the damn book over and over just figuring that at *some* point they will get it right.) Fortunately, I don't have quite the same strong reaction to Pretty in Pink, so I don't feel compelled to watch it over and over again - I mean, it is such a downer movie - Molly winds up with boring-ass Blaine, her prom dress is a nightmare of fug, and the climax of the divine Annie Potts' B-plot is that she finally meets a man worth repressing her kookiness for. I mean...
But it is something to discover that I've been annoyed at the wrong person for at least part of the vile ending. And I can now scream to the world of the whole universe: 'My sub-text-o-meter was NOT off during Pretty in Pink! Duckie is the bomb! That record store dance scene is not in there for nothing, man!'
And, thank you, Mr. Hughes, for Some Kind of Wonderful, which sets it all right - and has one of the best movie kisses ever captured on celluloid.
So there I am, on Amazon.com, finding out that the Special Collector's Edition (I don't even know) of said classic film of my youth is available to me for a mere $9.99 plus shipping and handling. Then, since I'm compulsive about reviews, I have to read what previous purchasers had to say, and, lo, the very first one was pointing out that this was basically John Hughes remake of Pretty in Pink, but restoring his original ending.
WHAT!?!?!?!
So then I go to the source of all definitive knowledge - Wikipedia - and confirm that, yes - right there under trivia:
"In Hughes' original [Pretty in Pink] script, Andie and Duckie ended up together, but due to pressure, Hughes had to change the ending so that Andie and Blane ended up together. The producers worried that the ending might come across as elitist. Ringwald, who was very sick during the shooting for the original ending and therefore didn't like how those scenes turned out, also objected to the original ending because she viewed Duckie as more of a brother than a love interest."
I've whined for years that Duckie is sooooooo much cooler than Blane! This is like finding out that Louisa May Alcott *wanted* Laurie and Jo together, but was forced by her publishers to put Laurie and Amy together. (I will never be over Laurie and Jo not getting married. Never. I'm convinced I reread the damn book over and over just figuring that at *some* point they will get it right.) Fortunately, I don't have quite the same strong reaction to Pretty in Pink, so I don't feel compelled to watch it over and over again - I mean, it is such a downer movie - Molly winds up with boring-ass Blaine, her prom dress is a nightmare of fug, and the climax of the divine Annie Potts' B-plot is that she finally meets a man worth repressing her kookiness for. I mean...
But it is something to discover that I've been annoyed at the wrong person for at least part of the vile ending. And I can now scream to the world of the whole universe: 'My sub-text-o-meter was NOT off during Pretty in Pink! Duckie is the bomb! That record store dance scene is not in there for nothing, man!'
And, thank you, Mr. Hughes, for Some Kind of Wonderful, which sets it all right - and has one of the best movie kisses ever captured on celluloid.
1 comment:
um, yes to everything you just said.
first, SKOW is one of my secret indulgences *because* of the 'let me teach you how to kiss' scene in the garage. i can trace my youthful obsession and current fondness for eric stoltz to that ONE scene. god was that hot. the hand clenchiness on the hips? hot!!
and i've *always* hated PiP because poor Duckie gets kicked to the curb. who can resist Duckie? i want a Duckie now! who would choose Bland over Duckie? those studio geeks totally misread Gen X girls everywhere.
our perpetual desire for the outcast, the awkward and the adoring have ruined us for the Bland Blaines in the world forever.
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