Review of Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) by Hannibal O — 29 Oct 2008

Not as cool as previous John Hughes films, but its decent. I felt it was wrong to have the film be set in L.A. John Hughes wasn't just synonymous with 80s teen films, but also with Chicago. Its safe to say that he put the city on the cinematic map.

Molly Ringwald was supposed to play the Lea Thompson character but she refused the role (smart move considering this story is almost the exact same as Pretty in Pink). That made me happy since anyone associated with Back to the Future was considered immortal (and still is).

I liked the ending more than Pretty in Pink and this was the ending that we should have seen in Pretty in Pink. I think it would have been even more satisfying if Lea Thompson had turned out to be a scheming lying bitch, forcing Eric Stoltz to hook up with Masterson.

One thing that bugged me here (and in Pretty in Pink) was how fucking dumb Stoltz (and Molly Ringwald) were to not notice that their best friend CLEARLY wanted to be more than just friends. I also thought Stoltz spending all his college money on Lea Thompson was lame and very 80s.

..this was clearly before college tuition became so high that to throw your money on a girl would be considered the absolute most retarded thing you could do. Like most teen films, the asshole characters are always the most interesting and this was no exception.

Craig Sheffer has some memorable lines here and although he was a notch down from the Karate Kid's Johnny, he was still pretty cool (especially in the gas station scene where he turns Stoltz into his bitch.

..classic). Oh yeah...the painting Stoltz made of Thompson that he had hung in the art museum. Bullshit! First, if he could paint like that, he wouldn't be working at a gas station. Second, next time try hanging your personal artwork in a museum and see how fast the alarms go off and the cops come to beat your ass.

Anyway, other than all that (oh yeah, Masterson's character...clearly a lesbian), its a pretty decent film.