RIP, John Hughes
Our Summer of Death continues with the sad news that 80s film maker extraordinaire, John Hughes, has died at the age of 59. I think a little bit of my coming of age has died with him. No one captured the essence of the big-shouldered Reagan years as well.
There’s little doubt in my mind that his movies influenced a generation, and that he empowered the freaks and geeks to see themselves as heroes in their own stories:
- National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
- Sixteen Candles
- The Breakfast Club
- Pretty in Pink
- Weird Science
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
- Some Kind of Wonderful
- Planes, Trains & Automobiles
- Uncle Buck
- Home Alone
- Curly Sue
I could get all mushy and melancholy about this, but instead I think Hughes would want us to keep laughing.
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
– Ferris Bueller
Older, getting, I, am.
R.I.P. Mr. Hughes.
Tengrain, we have bowed down in salute to John Hughes before here at MPS, so when I heard this news driving in this morning, I knew I could count on you to have posted.
While I am not sure the statement is quite true, one of the radio jocks here in Perth described Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as “simply the best movie ever made”. For those of us of that age, whose teen years spanned the late seventies to late eighties, at least a half a dozen of those movies in your list are like precious gems that will forever remind us of our youth.
Mounty -
Without a doubt that’s true.
I’m jonesing for Molly Ringwald right now, bad.
Regards,
Tengrain
Oh dear! I loved so many of his movies. And dead at 59, what the… Wow. Rest in peace dear John, you brought us so much.
I catch myself smiling at the thought of Planes, Trains & Automobiles and the heart warming final scene. At the risk of sounding a luddite I still have the VHS copy of that film and a couple of others from your list – great films.
Wow! I love all of those movies!
Me too, Zaius. I was watching scenes from P,T, & A last night – what a great show. I wish I could swear like this: