Review of Pretty in Pink (1986) by Tim S — 02 Feb 2013

There are things that Pretty in PInk gets right and there are things that it gets wrong. I guess I'll start out with the right things. Castling pretty Molly Ringwald was the right choice, as was fellow-brat packer Andrew McCarthy.

The rest of the cast is pretty good as well. What bothers me about the film are the shortcomings in the story, mainly the ending. I'm sure others have talked about it at length elesewhere, but I was disappointed in Ringwald's character for choosing the guy who was terrible to her (not to mention a bit of a wuss) instead of just opting for Duckie's friendship and possibly more instead.

The thing is though that that's probably the most interesting thing about the film. The decision to go with that ending affected the overall film and just turned it into a fairytale rather than a decent depiction of a poor girl realizing that she wasn't poor at all in the first place.

Everything leading up to that is ok, but it changes the nature of the film, and that bothered me. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, nor would I lump it in with the other John Hughes' films (Sixteen Candles is superior to this film, sue me), but I'd say it's worth at least a watch.

Unless you're a girl who goes for the unrealistic romance then this is probably your cup of tea. Also, there's Annie Potts.