John Hughes, Director: 1950 – 2009
Though he continued to produce throughout the ’90s, John Hughes hadn’t directed a film since 1991’s Curly Sue so it’s almost easy to forget what a massive part his movies played in my teenage years. To come back from lunch to read that he died today of a heart attack at the age of 59 comes as a shock and leaves me feeling depressed even though I never met the man.
Of all his movies either as a writer, producer and/or director, The Breakfast Club was my favorite. It was the first movie I’d seen that really seemed to get how horrible it could be to be a teenager and I wanted to believe the ray of hope it offered that high school didn’t have to be that way.
Sixteen Candles, Weird Science and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off were special in their own right, each one putting a different spin on the travails of growing up. They were teen movies that didn’t pander to their audiences or talk down to them. You felt smart watching them. You felt like you weren’t a little kid anymore and that your problems mattered.
I don’t now if you can say they were great or not, but they were great to me in that time. Anyway, you certainly can’t argue they didn’t have a huge influence on movies or on pop-culture in general.
I’ll save the bios and career retrospectives for other people who are better at that kind of thing. For now I’d just like to remember what it was like to be 16 and to thank John Hughes, if not for helping me survive it, then at least for making it more bearable.
Filed under: Obituaries
Tags: John Hughes
RIP, Mr. Hughes.
I don’t know that you can say his movies were great but they were good and well-made. And they’re a snapshot of their time. Like you point out, they were teen films that were respectful of teens and being a teenager. God knows there were a lot of crap movies about teens released at that time, and many of them were exploitative. Hughes’ films never were.
RIP.
Great piece on the impact Hughes had on your life, Craig. And a fine comment by Alison as well.
He produced some crap and wrote some more, but that core group of movies he directed through Planes Trains and Automobiles leave a much bigger mark on my ’80s experience than most things.
I agree, Craig. The Breakfast Club is a real classic of course and was one of my favorites at the time. Ferris Beuller’s Day Off was a lot of fun and in its own way it had something to say.
I’m not as big a fan of stuff like Sixteen Candles, but even that movie had its truly poignant moments.
Sixteen Candles has a ton of quotable lines. Pretty much everything involving Long Duc Dong is a keeper.
Actually, the name alone is a keeper. Long Duc Dong.
“No more yankie my wankie. The Donger need food.”
Probably doesn’t fly in these more racially sensitive times, but when I was 14 or 15? That was comedy gold.
Wow, that’s shocking news. The 80’s appear to be dying this Summer.
John Hughes had a huge impact on my teen years, not just for the quality entertainment he delivered but for the music featured on the soundtracks and his willingness to make the nerds as important and relevant as the jocks and the cheerleaders in his films. His irreverent take on being a teen helped me survive the nightmare that is middle and high school.
RIP John Hughes.
LOL. It definitely wouldn’t fly now, Craig. The lines AND the sound of the gong being struck every time his name is pronounced.
One of the funniest moments – on the exercise bike.
“No more yankie my wankie. The Donger need food.”
Yeah, not these days.
A John Hughes mixtape montage.
John Hughes WAS the 80s. So much of our culture is reflected in his movies. It’s almost hard to say whether the time defined his works or vice versa.
Sad news.
Thanks for the link, Ryan.
That was great Ryan, thanks.
“John Huges WAS the 80s” And unlike some parts of that decade, his stuff aged well.
Sixteen Candles was charming, and I, particularly, have always liked Planes Trains and Automobiles, and the script to Vacation. (I hate The Breakfast Club, hate it.)
It’s a shame to see anyone die so young and unexpectedly (though that seems to be the norm this year).
I haven’t watched The Breakfast Club in many years and whenever I see a clip of it, it seems corny, but I can’t see past how it felt to watch it when it first came out. Combined with the music videos on MTV (you know, back when that channel had music vidoes), it was almost a part of daily high school fabric.
This was a real shock. It’s even sadder because he was so young.
I grew up with his movies. I was born in the 80s so my grand appreciation translates more to the decade following.
Totally get what you’re saying, Craig.
The films do have a wonderful timeless quality about them. They’re gems that anyone could have enjoyed back then and continued revisiting for as long as they wanted to. Many teenagers now will gravitate to them. They’ve genuinely held up.
It’s largely because they’re smart and relatable. You’ve been there and you know who those people are.
My personal favourites are SIXTEEN CANDLES, PRETTY IN PINK, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF and SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL.
Can’t believe he’s gone. Or that there will never be another film from this richly insightful writer/director.
RIP, Mr. Hughes.
Craig, i just found yr blog post on this, good post. One thing, as you can see from my blog, not one blog or media outlet has shown us what John Hughes looked like after 1984. when he was 35. You use the same photo everyone else is using. He was not an actor. Actors don’t age, but movie directors do. And JH’s aging might have had something to do with his sudden death by pokkuri heart attack on a sidewalk in New York, no? Overweight issues? Diabetes related? I mean people just don’t pop off and die when they are 59 do they? I forget, yes they do. My uncle did it that way too. But later we will find out exactly what JH died from, the medical report from his longtime doctor, and most prob it will be routine normal middle age heart attack. But why no recent photos? Even you? i got two photos here on my blog go look. He looks GOOD in 2001 and even better in 2009 at tthe Red Wings game,which they won by the way, Can you post one or both of these photos on your blog one day and tell us what you think. Or as Michael Wolff asked in Newser the other day “Who Killed John Hughes?” and yes, i loved the man, and loved his films. RIP, John Hughes. but jeez, media and blogospher, show us the REAL John Hughes not the Hollywood PR standing head shot!
correct link for blog is here
http://northwardho.blogspot.com
with 2001 and 2009 photo of Hughes. both nice!