Pretty in Pink (Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

 
Studio: Paramount  
Release Date: June 16, 2020
Rating: PG-13
Film: 4/5
 
Plot
Teen sensations Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club) and Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo’s Fire) drew rave reviews for their starring performances in this timeless love story. Andie (Ringwald) is a high school girl from the other side of town. Blane (McCarthy) is the wealthy heartthrob who asks her to the prom. But as fast as their romance builds, it’s threatened by the painful reality of peer pressure.  The film also stars Jon Cryer, James Spader, Harry Dean Stanton, and Annie Potts and features a phenomenal new wave soundtrack, including the title track by the Psychedelic Furs.
 
My Thoughts
Between 1983 and 1992, John Hughes was on fire as a writer. In fact, I can’t think of anyone else in Hollywood history who put a resume like his together over such a short period. It started with Mr. Mom, then National Lampoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Nation Lampoon’s European Vacation, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, She’s Having a Baby, The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and capping it off, Home Alone.
 
Most of these films would be career-defining for most writers, but all of them came from the mind of one man—unbelievable! Pretty in Pink is a very good movie, although it doesn’t quite reach the level of my favorite films from Hughes such as Ferris Bueller, The Breakfast Club, and Uncle Buck, but it’s like saying you like a New York over a Rib Eye—both are great steaks!
 
This is the typical boy meets girl story with a bit of a love triangle thrown into the mix, but it’s still a lot of fun today. Cryer turned out to be the biggest star of the main cast with his long run on Two and a Half Men, but Ringwald and McCarthy didn’t exactly disappear from site either. What I really loved seeing was a young Annie Potts, who is a hoot and is smokin’ hot as well! Like most of Hughes’ films, the soundtrack is awesome but this was his fist time Executive Producing one of his projects and he turned the director reigns over to Howard Deutch, who had cut his teeth in music videos and his debut effort with a feature film started his career off on the right foot.
 
This is the latest edition to the Paramount Presents line and has received a new 4K transfer—unfortunately, a 4K UHD version isn’t available. The print looks great in 1080p, although the color timing is a bit inconsistent scene to scene, but I’m picking nits here. The soundtrack features intelligible audio throughout and isn’t going to show off the prowess of your surround speakers. 

Video 4/5 
 
Audio 4/5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
 
Special Features: 

• Filmmaker Focus with director Howard Deutch
• The Lost Dance: The Original Ending
• Isolated Score
• Theatrical Trailer

 

 
Conclusion
This was quite a trip down memory lane on a film that I haven’t seen since high school. The cast does a great job and it’s fun to see the actors early in their career before they became household names. Hughes definitely understood the 80’s teenager and while this isn’t his best work, it’s very entertaining. Recommended for fans.