"Does that answer your question?"
Those words ring in the back of my head like the bell in the church steeple down the street from my house. It is prolific and dares to bring confidence into the souls of each viewer.
This is a line from one of the most soul-bearing directors of the 20th century. A man who formulated every challenge a teen goes through and made it into something to laugh about.
John Hughes. A director of a lost, adolescent generation.
Along with his witty, directing humor, he incidentally created a group of actors known to those of the 1980s as the 'Brat Pack'. This included actors such as Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Matthew Broderick, and Jon Cryer. Some more popular than others, but all in all, a hilarious group of kids.
Over this very long break and time of solace during quarantine, I've found myself in need of something to make me laugh. The world is in so much turmoil that I needed a reminder that everything was going to be alright and I needed something that was going to simply make....laugh.
I found these films to be the ones that made me belly laugh from my head to my toes. Oh, the 80's. What a time.
I. The Breakfast Club. 1985.
This was the breakthrough. The one that captivated audiences across the world. The wild part is that it is all started by five students being sentenced to Saturday detention. The criminal, the athlete, the princess, the brains, and the basketcase. At the start, their hatred for one another is unmatched. They believe they are all too different to ever get along. That is until they find out, they aren't all that different. Each of them experiences pain, love, hate, and abuse, whether mental or physical. It just takes an afternoon of being trapped in one another presence to understand, they are all stuck in the same places in life together.
II. Sixteen Candles. 1985.
The most important day in an adolescent girl's life. Her 16th birthday. And what happened to dear old Sam, her family forgot all about it. Molly Ringwald lights up the screen, per usual, with her fiery red hair and confident personality. The story takes Sam through the crazy weekend her sister is to get married, which happens to be her birthday weekend as well. All this occurs all while her crush and film hottie, Jake Ryan, finds out that Sam has an infatuation with him. Even with the wildness of an 80s high school party, there is always love to be found for all parties involved.
III. St. Elmo's Fire. 1985.
As a college student, this one hit close to home. The fearful question that all adults ask a student studying for their secondary educational career: "What's the plan after school?". A group of best friends, recently graduated from Georgetown University, are attempting to find their way in the world, after slowly realizing they aren't in college anymore. Each of them wants to be successful and find love, but it is seeming to be more complex than any of them expected. The only thing that remains constant is St. Elmo's Bar, the place that brings them joy and reminds them of the most important thing in life: friends.
IV. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. 1986.
I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. Matthew Broderick, the heartthrob, grasps the hearts of girls all over with his interesting plans and a soft smile. As a struggling student and manipulative genius, Ferris Bueller decides school is not the movie for the day and fakes a sickness in order to stay home. Little do his parents know, Ferris, along with his girlfriend Sloane and best friend Cameron, are about to take the Chicago joyride of a lifetime, all without getting caught. Even the meddling, vice-principal, Mr. Rooney, is no match for this trio and an afternoon they will never forget.
V. Pretty In Pink. 1986.
The dream is as follows: the most popular, attractive boy in school picks you up in his cream-colored Cadillac to take you to the prom. Butterflies, man, butterflies. That is just what this movie gives me. Andie, a young girl from the other side of the tracks is simply trying to make it. Keep her dad in a job, working at the record store, and going to school, without being tormented by the popular kids. The is until the popular, rich boy, Blane, finds her charming and irresistible. Blane struggles to keep a foot in each world but finds that love is the most important thing. Will Andie and Blane be able to make it in their own world?
