Relive the angst and romance of Pretty in Pink this Valentine’s Day

Paramount Pictures

The laughter. The lovers. The friends. The fights. The talk. The hurt. The jealousy. The passion. The pressure. The real world.

There has never been a more intense, angst-filled teen movie poster than that of the classic John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. Released by Paramount Pictures in 1986, Pretty in Pink is celebrating its 30th anniversary this February with a limited theatrical re-release that teases it will also include behind-the-scenes bonus footage and alternate endings … are we finally going to see the fabled original “Duckie ending” before it was changed to appease the test audiences who reacted so negatively to it?

As an ardent Pretty in Pink admirer, I’ve always been pissed that the original ending has never been included in the DVD releases (not even on 2006’s “Everything’s Duckie Edition” for its 20th anniversary. What a misleading title that was!) I have high hopes that it will somehow be miraculously included this time, although I’m pretty sure that the cast said that the original ending was needlessly – and cruelly – destroyed … tossed out like an old bit of rubbish not even suitable to piece together Andie’s secondhand prom dress … discarded like an unwanted Duckie in the prime of his life. C’est la vie. However, I’m so stoked about the 30th anniversary that I decided to write a Valentine professing my love for this film and why I consider it to be such a revered cult classic.

Do you remember your first time experiencing everything Pretty in Pink had to offer … all the love, hurt, betrayal and teen anguish caused by the social cliques that ran rampant in American high schools of the era? It seems highly likely that my first encounter with Pretty in Pink was on the popular program Dinner and a Movie, which ran on the TBS cable network from 1995 to 2011. Hosted by Chef Claud Mann and comedians Paul Gilmartin and Annabelle Gurwitch (later Janet Varney), I was obsessed with watching this every weekend.

Not only did they show great movies from the ‘80s for my middle school-aged friends and I to discuss during lunch (launching my other ongoing obsession with that decade), but they also served some interesting-looking meals that usually fit the theme of the movie being presented, often with a witty pun involved. Here are some actual meal/movie pairings (courtesy of the Internet) for you to ponder: Back to the Future/Travelin’ Through Thyme and Onion Tart, 9 to 5/Male Chauvinist Pig, The Outsiders/Pony Boy Fries and Cherry Valance Pie, What About Bob?/Baby Steppin’ Ka-Bobs and Roadhouse/Patrick Swayze’s Cracked Ribs and Black-Eyed Peas. Out of curiosity, I looked up what fun meal they served during their presentation of Pretty in Pink … it was “Pretty in Pink Salmon Filets with a Virgin Tomato Sauce.” God, that show was clever!

Pretty in Pink stars Hughes’ teen-aged muse Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh, your typical high school girl coming of age. Andie comes from a broken, single-parent family (her mother ran out on her and her father (Harry Dean Stanton), and it seems he’s never been able to fully recover from the heartbreak. Because he has difficulty holding a steady job (which to be fair, this might be the reason the mother left), they’re quite poor. But Andie is bright and creative, excelling in her studies with dreams of being a fashion designer one day. She works part-time in an awesome record store called Trax with Annie Potts being just about the coolest boss (Iona) you’ll ever see. Andie has a nerdy-but-cool-in-his-own-way, marching-to-the-beat-of-his-own-drummer best friend who adores her – the one-and-only Duckie Dale (Jon Cryer). However, Andie doesn’t return his romantic feelings, and arguably, she doesn’t even see them. She’s too busy pining away for Blane McDonough (the swoon-worthy Andrew McCarthy). But alas, Blane comes from a preppy, rich family and the socioeconomic classes aren’t supposed to mix, let alone date or marry.

Pretty in Pink captures the essence of high school remarkably well – that’s why it’s still relevant 30 years later. There will always be socioeconomic divisions and arrogant bullies like Blane’s best friend Steff (James Spader in the role he was born to play) and his airhead, bitch-of-a-girlfriend Benny (Kate Vernon) who like to make you aware of the fact. When Blane finally does work up the courage to ask out Andie, the Romeo & Juliet-esque couple has trouble finding a place where they can fit in together. They can’t hang out with Duckie and Iona at the club because of Duckie’s bitter jealousy and they also can’t enjoy Steff’s party because he’s such a jerk. It’s never been more painfully obvious that high school is all about defining where you belong and don’t belong in society during those awkward years of adolescence.

Paramount Pictures

The climax comes when Blane asks Andie to attend the senior prom, but then backs out because of the surmounting peer pressure. She bravely decides to go alone (later with Duckie), and in an original design of hers to boot. (It’s truly hideous, and I’m not sure it was considered fashionable even by 1986’s standards). In the end, Blane comes to his senses and the two are reunited, although the original ending found Duckie getting the girl. Apparently, test audiences (and Ringwald) didn’t like this ending because they didn’t think the chemistry between Duckie and Andie was palpable. And so it was reshot. If Blane looks a little different to you at the end, it’s because he had already lost significant weight for his next role and he’s also wearing a wig.

Even if you cannot appreciate the story or either ending, there is much to be said about the casting and music in Pretty in Pink. The soundtrack features everyone from Echo & the Bunnymen to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, INXS, The Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths and New Order. Nobody put together a better New Wave soundtrack than Hughes in his prime. It’s one of my favorite movie soundtracks of all time. Aside from the tremendous talent of the people already mentioned, watch for cameos from Andrew Dice Clay and Dweezil Zappa in the film. Much like Duckie loves worshipping Andie’s volcanic ensembles, I can’t take my eyes off this film. It’s truly an ‘80s masterpiece.

Whether you’re Team Duckie or Team Blane, you can catch Pretty in Pink in select theaters on Sunday, February 14 and Wednesday, February 17, presented by Fathom Events and Paramount. I’ll be seeing it with my favorite ‘80s Valentine, and I cannot think of a more fitting way to spend my Valentine’s Day than with the movie that taught me life is all about the important choices and living with the consequences of said choices.

Andie gave her heart to Blane, for better or for worse. You can’t change who you love, or can you? If you side with Team Blane, you’re setting yourself up for a world of heartbreaks, kid. The Blanes of this world – the ridiculously good-looking, pompous, given-everything-they’ve-ever-wanted-without-lifting-a-finger type – will promptly chew you up and spit you back out without so much as batting an eye or removing that silver spoon from their pouty mouth. Team Duckie is by far the safer (and perhaps the superior) choice. He possesses the better personality, wardrobe and taste in music. And I hear he’s one hell of a kisser! Not only will he open you up to a little more tenderness that was previously missing in life, but he might just be the love of your life. His love for you is sure to be unique – and likely undying. He certainly won’t flake out on you because of peer pressure. However, my Valentine was quick to point out that he didn’t feel Duckie and Andie belonged together because Duckie was trying too hard to find the love he desperately wanted/needed from the wrong person when clearly he was meant to be with Kristy Swanson all along (billed as Duckette, she’s the girl who shows up out of nowhere at the prom and flirts with Duckie in the ending shots). My Valentine is a wise man. I think he’s my Duckie and I’m his Duckette.

And if we don’t get the Duckie ending from the theatrical re-release, I splurged for a copy of the film’s original novelization years ago to slake my own burning curiosity. This is the last paragraph: “Blane wasn’t grinning. He was smiling. And so were Andie Walsh and Duckie Dale. They held each other as the couples around them began to dance again. They held each other and smiled. They danced around and around, smiling at each other, then laughing, dancing around and around and around, until they were one – one whirling, smiling, laughing blur of pink.” And if that isn’t profound, I don’t know what is.