John Hughes' Good,Bad and Ugly!

[Gabriel Girard]

I have a feeling that this one will be pretty consensual.

[Mitchell Hattaway]

Good: Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Bad: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Ugly: Everything Else

[BrettCullum]

Oh LORD! Didn't Hughes just kinda remake the same film over and over? He wrote over forty films, but really only directed eight of them...

The Good?
That is actually tough, but I am going to say SIXTEEN CANDLES. It was his first, and it defined everything that came after it.It was smart, romantic, funny, and anybody could relate. Most of what he did was a variation on this basic little film that just worked in every way.

The Bad?
UNCLE BUCK for sure... but it is watchable. I love Candy in it!

The Ugly?
CURLY SUE... I hate that was his last feature...

I wish they would go ahead with that BREAKFAST CLUB sequel they have been threatening...

[Gabriel Girard]

Oh LORD! Didn't Hughes just kinda remake the same film over and over? He wrote over forty films, but really only directed eight of them...

The Good?
That is actually tough, but I am going to say SIXTEEN CANDLES. It was his first, and it defined everything that came after it.It was smart, romantic, funny, and anybody could relate. Most of what he did was a variation on this basic little film that just worked in every way.

I just...I can't. I certainly couldn't relate to it. I chose it as my ugly. But if it works for you - more power to you I guess.

[BrettCullum]

Basically SIXTEEN CANDLES was the template for PRETTY IN PINK, WEIRD SCIENCE, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL, and any of the teen movies he made. The only one that broke out of the mold was THE BREAKFAST CLUB which is more of its own thing than the rest. But CANDLES even has a strong influence on FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF... it's his ultimate work in my book. And how can you not relate to at least one of those characters?

[cdouglas]

Good: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Bad: Uncle Buck

Ugly: Curly Sue

Since a lot of folks seem to really hate Hughes' stuff, I feel obliged to say that I also like The Breakfast Club and kinda-sorta like Ferris Bueller's Day Off. His stuff doesn't resonate with me the way it does for a lot of people, but I'd hardly put him among the worst commercial filmmakers of his era.

[mavrach]

Hughes is great for nostalgia. There's a lot of people who grew up watching his movies and have fond memories for them. There's a reason why whenever I see a Police Academy movie on TV, I can't help but watch for a few minutes. But if you've never heard of Hughes and objectively watched his movies first the first time as an adult, you wouldn't be very impressed. Like I mentioned in the podcast, he was able to connect with so many young people.


Side discussion: What do you think Uncle Buck would do if he got ahold of Jake from Sixteen Candles?

[Gabriel Girard]

Basically SIXTEEN CANDLES was the template for PRETTY IN PINK, WEIRD SCIENCE, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL, and any of the teen movies he made. The only one that broke out of the mold was THE BREAKFAST CLUB which is more of its own thing than the rest. But CANDLES even has a strong influence on FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF... it's his ultimate work in my book. And how can you not relate to at least one of those characters?

Like I said on the podcast all the caracters in SIXTEEN CANDLES are awful stereotypes. I shoukld identify with Hall's geek but that character makes no sense to me - he really seems to believe that he'ss a lady-killer. No nerds I knew acted like that. Basically PLANES,TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES feels like the only movie he made featuring actual characters along with FERRIS. Those two, BREAKFAST CLUB and UNCLE BUCK are the only ones I enjoy. I also rank PRETTY IN PINK as a guilty pleasure, mostly because I can identify with Duckie, but that one was directed by Howard Deutch.

[Bryan Pope]

Basically SIXTEEN CANDLES was the template for PRETTY IN PINK, WEIRD SCIENCE, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL, and any of the teen movies he made. The only one that broke out of the mold was THE BREAKFAST CLUB which is more of its own thing than the rest. But CANDLES even has a strong influence on FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF... it's his ultimate work in my book. And how can you not relate to at least one of those characters?

Like I said on the podcast all the caracters in SIXTEEN CANDLES are awful stereotypes. I shoukld identify with Hall's geek but that character makes no sense to me - he really seems to believe that he'ss a lady-killer. No nerds I knew acted like that.

The nerds I knew WOULD have thought they had a shot with a girl like Sam. She's cute, but not a knockout. Kinda cool, but really a wallflower. And not in the in-crowd. To me, it makes sense.

And as I already mentioned to you on FB, I think Hughes should at least get credit for fleshing out Sam's parents in a way that few teen films did back then. That scene between her and her dad after the dance was handled with tenderness and honesty.

[Gabriel Girard]

Basically SIXTEEN CANDLES was the template for PRETTY IN PINK, WEIRD SCIENCE, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL, and any of the teen movies he made. The only one that broke out of the mold was THE BREAKFAST CLUB which is more of its own thing than the rest. But CANDLES even has a strong influence on FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF... it's his ultimate work in my book. And how can you not relate to at least one of those characters?

Like I said on the podcast all the caracters in SIXTEEN CANDLES are awful stereotypes. I shoukld identify with Hall's geek but that character makes no sense to me - he really seems to believe that he'ss a lady-killer. No nerds I knew acted like that.

The nerds I knew WOULD have thought they had a shot with a girl like Sam. She's cute, but not a knockout. Kinda cool, but really a wallflower. And not in the in-crowd. To me, it makes sense.

And as I already mentioned to you on FB, I think Hughes should at least get credit for fleshing out Sam's parents in a way that few teen films did back then. That scene between her and her dad after the dance was handled with tenderness and honesty.

1. It's not the fact that he thinks that he has a shot with Sam that bothers me but the fact that he presents himself like a ladies man. He says that he's been pegged as one since the 6th grade and he seems to believe it.

2.I can give it that. Hughes' adult characters are often the best part of his movies.

[Attrage]

Good: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Bad: Uncle Buck

Ugly: Curly Sue

Ditto for me. Planes,Trains & Autos is the only Hughes film I regularly find myself re-watching. I'll watch Breakfast Club if it's on TV and I happen to channel-surf to it. I'll re-watch Ferris maybe once a year.

[JoshRode]

Hmm...he didn't direct as many as I thought. Many of the things I associate with Hughes were written by him but directed by someone else.

Limiting it to his directorial features, then:

Good: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but I do also like Ferris and I have a special place in my heart for Sixteen Candles.

Bad: I haven't seen Curly Sue, She's Having a Baby, or Weird Science, so I guess I'll go with Breakfast Club. It was okay, but I never saw what all the hype was about. And I'm saying that as a person who stands squarely in the center of that generation.

Ugly: Uncle Buck. It had funny moments, but not many.


Now, if you include the horrible films he's written, the candidates for the Bad and Ugly would fill a page.

[mkiker2089]

I really don't get my fellow forum members sometimes. Ferris Bueller is an 80s romp. It's as fun now as brushing off the vinyl to listen to A Flock of Seagulls. Actually it's more 80s than the 80s really were, which is a major part of nostalgia in general.

I am going to say Breakfast Club is ugly. Not because it's horrible, it isn't. Because it tries so hard to be something it isn't. It wasted so much time trying to be the new Bob Dylan that it missed it's chance to entertain. That's a tough call though.

[J.M. Vargas]

I really can'y bring myself to rank the Hughes-directed movies because (a) I haven't seen most of them (and have no inclination to do so) and (b) when I think Hughes I think mostly of the stuff he wrote (which more than quadruples his directorial output). Like the Paul Schrader podcast I wish you guys had made a special separate Good/Bad/Ugly ranking Hughes-scripted/produced movies, because limiting it to the movies he directed excludes detail-rich work like "Home Alone," the "Vacation" movies and "Dutch" (kidding! ).

Also, the 'Michael Wincott as ____' replacing lead characters in a John Hughes movie killed me (especially Wincott as Curlie Sue ). I was on a bus coming back from work and everyone turned around to look at the guy on a coat with a hoodie (which hid the headphones) in the back of the bus laughing his ass off for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

[Steve T Power]

I really can'y bring myself to rank the Hughes-directed movies because (a) I haven't seen most of them (and have no inclination to do so) and (b) when I think Hughes I think mostly of the stuff he wrote (which more than quadruples his directorial output). Like the Paul Schrader podcast I wish you guys had made a special separate Good/Bad/Ugly ranking Hughes-scripted/produced movies, because limiting it to the movies he directed excludes detail-rich work like "Home Alone," the "Vacation" movies and "Dutch" (kidding! ).

Also, the 'Michael Wincott as ____' replacing lead characters in a John Hughes movie killed me (especially Wincott as Curlie Sue ). I was on a bus coming back from work and everyone turned around to look at the guy on a coat with a hoodie (which hid the headphones) in the back of the bus laughing his ass off for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

Our Michael Wincott meme has faded a little in recent episodes... really need to bring that back...

I'm so glad you're enjoying these Mr. V

[mavrach]

We went the whole Michael Bay episode without mentioning Kim Coates once, and he was in a few of Bay's movies too!

[Steve T Power]

We went the whole Michael Bay episode without mentioning Kim Coates once, and he was in a few of Bay's movies too!

DAMMIT! *punches dashboard*

I blame Forbes...