Thursday, August 6, 2009

Director John Hughes Dies At 59

I was shocked to learn this evening that director and Lansing, MI native John Hughes died in New York at the age of 59 of a heart attack. I don't think any other director is more closely tied to 80s cinema than John. If you were to make a Mount Rushmore of 80s teen movies and chose Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, you wouldn't hear a lot of boos and hisses from the bleachers. If it wasn't for John, I never would have heard the term "neo maxi zoom dweebie" or witness a pre-nose job Jennifer Grey deliver a swift ass-kicking to Jeffrey Jones.

Even though he was the Orson Welles of teen movies, he veered away from the Clearasil set and made the hilarious road comedy Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with Steve Martin and John Candy. Since I couldn't find the "Mess Around" scene from Planes, Trains..., here's another clip from the movie that puts my stomach muscles to work. Lesson: If somebody's yelling out you that you are driving on the wrong side of the road, you damn well better listen.

R.I.P. John

7 comments:

Unknown said...

All the movies I watched growing up, I idolized MOlly Ringwald for years. He will be missed.

Jessica said...

So sad to hear about this, I loved his work.

pjazzypar said...

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles is one of my favorite movies. John Candy was one of the funniest men on the planet and definitely underrated. The "Mess Around" scene was hilarious, but what I really liked about John Hughes's film were that there was always going to be something sweet and human about his characterizations. What a loss.

Candy Minx said...

We have lost a great storyteller. Thanks for the video. I have some good clips on my blog if you get a chance.

Jessica The Rock Chick said...

A true loss. I was thinking about his work and how a huge chunk of my youth was tied to those films! Oh, to be a bratpacker!

Anonymous said...

What bugs me is how this is such a media sidebar. It should be a big deal. He was the voice of my teenage years.

I bawl my eyeballs out every time Ducky sends Andie back to Blaine. I mean, this is an incredibly romantic moment and you're ruining it for me...

Candy Minx said...

Hey...check out this blog post!

http://wellknowwhenwegetthere.blogspot.com/2009/08/sincerely-john-hughes.html

 
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