comment #1

Mr. F. says ...

Jesus. What a shame. While I don't share the love for Planes, Trains & Autos -- it's okay, with a few really standout bits -- I will always be a big fan of Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

I guess the lesson is: put down the Pringles, and start eating some fruits and vegetables before it's too late...

comment #2

rory taylor says ...

i loved pt, a.
however the man lost it in the 90's.
and yes, there will be a hundred posts about he understood the teenage psyche or otherwise.
depends where the psyche was from.

comment #3

George Prager says ...

Saw UNCLE BUCK on TV recently. Strange movie. Directed like it was a 30s Fritz Lang movie.

comment #4

Josh Tate says ...

He associated himself with a lot of junk as a writer and producer, but his directorial output was very solid. His first 5 films were perfectly directed at his intended audience. Weird Science and The Breakfast Club seem a bit dated these days, but Planes, Trains, Ferris and (especially) Sixteen Candles are still funny.

comment #5

frankbooth says ...

Maybe you had to be the right age to get into Hughes.

I was a little older, in my twenties. Repo Man was my favorite film. As a result, I found his stuff a little too slick and contrived and commercial. When he got into his Baby's Day Out phase, I wasn't as surprised or disappointed as some people. I saw it as a natural progression.

I may have been a wiseass little shit with an attitude, but even though my worldview has changed, my taste really hasn't. I'm still not crazy about Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller, with their eager-to-please, cutsey dance numbers and ultimate endorsement of the status quo.

I'm sure others will jump in to say that his films changed their lives when they were 16, which is fine. I'm not knocking the man -- he may have been a great guy. He had a faclity with a gag. But I do think nostalgia has elevated his work to a level it doesn't really deserve. Feel free to call me a Grinch or an asshole

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

I still think Sixteen Candles is one of the best teen comedies of all time. There are also flashes of brilliance in Weird Science, Uncle Buck and Planes, Trains. Though it was pitched at my generation, I never much cared for Breakfast Club.

Sad he died so young, though.

comment #7

TulseLuper says ...

I adore Planes Trains & Automobiles and I also have a real soft spot for Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I don't share the cultural love for The Breakfast Club or many of his other films but anyone who make films as good as those is okay in my book. RIP.

comment #8

DeeZee says ...

I couldn't believe it, either. Man, once the 80s icons like him and M.J. pass away, what's left? We seriously have a generation bereft of quality pop culture.

frank: I only saw Breakfast Club, Uncle Buck, and Home Alone, but I wasn't a big fan, either. But it's nice to have a director who made teen movies with small concepts, rather than inserting teens into CG suck-fests or know-it-all talk-fests.

comment #9

George Prager says ...

Sixteen Candles is a classic. Liked the Breakfast Club, hated Ally Sheedy's makeover. Ferris is funny but smug. Some of the others are good. I've never seen all of Planes or Home Alone. Some Kind Of Wonderful really irritated me. Weird Science is one of the greatest hangover movies of all time.

comment #10

MilkMan says ...

No more yanky my wanky.

comment #11

dinovelvet says ...

"I'm gonna get to the bottom of this ASAFP, but first I'd like to butter your muffin" - Chet

comment #12

DeafBrownTrashPunk says ...

I'm at a loss for words. He will always be one of my favourite filmmakers, I don't care what any snooty film snob says about that.

His movies will always bring back fond memories of my childhood growing up in the 80s and 90s. I feel like I have lost a distant uncle or something.

RIP :(

comment #13

Alan Cerny says ...

PLANES, TRAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES is one of the best American comedies ever made. There's a reason Ebert put it on his Great Movies list. IT's got John Candy's best performance in it and one of Steve Martin's too.

I'm going to say "fuck" to a airline reservationist multiple times in honor of Hughes. Excuse me.

comment #14

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

I'll let other people chime in with the love for 16C, TBC, and FB'sDO -- I know there's a lot of you, it's just not my thing.

I'll always dig Uncle Buck for its bizarrely retro-dated mis-en-scene (just scrolled up, and Prager actually said it best for once). And yeah, I'm not turning off Weird Science, either. Young Downey Jr. & Paxton, theme song by Oingo Boingo, Kelly LeBrock! WTF ever happened to her, anyway?

comment #15

Josh Massey says ...

"WTF ever happened to her, anyway?"

You DON'T want to know. Do not Google her, for the sake of your sanity. Remember the good times. Only the good times.

comment #16

Josh Massey says ...

Oh ok, because I'm a jerk...

comment #17

frankbooth says ...

Now I wanna see Uncle Buck.

comment #18

frankbooth says ...

Ahhhh!

What the fuck was that, Massey?!

comment #19

poseidon72 says ...

Its hard to believe that the stats show that only 4 of 10,000 people take a heart attack. It seems like so many more especially celebrities. Sad way to go here one minute gone the next. I would hate to go that way especially pre-60. As for diet Jeff- Who really has a great diet in this country?

comment #20

pm123 says ...

His movies were hugely popular for a reason - they very intelligently explored a primal American theme - the difficult choice between the safety and comfort (and boredom) of the home, vs. the danger and excitement of the frontier. In Hughes' world, home was the North Shore suburbs of Chicago, and the frontier was the city of Chicago. He had an ear for dialogue and music that was absolutely pitch perfect. No one cares if you didn't "like" his movies or didn't "get" them - the point is that he very effectively encapsulated and updated a basic American mythology for a modern American generation. He truly had a unique, well thought-out vision.

comment #21

JeffK says ...

Breakfast Club was one of those law of diminishing returns kind of things. I loved it when I first saw it but over the years its flaws and grand gestures have become much more obvious. Bueller always felt too eager to please to me, although it still has a couple of hilarious understated one liners. Home Alone on the other hand, which I used to dismiss as commercial, mindless kiddy slapstick, has strangely become a guilty pleasure of mine. It's downright sadistic for a supposed kids film, and while the big emotional scenes and speeches have all the subtly of a Zemeckis picture, they oddly work, which I think is due to the phenomenal score by John Williams which just puts you in the Christmas mood.

But Planes, Trains, & Automobiles, that's a comedy masterpiece, the ultimate buddy comedy, and no matter how many times I see the ending, I still get a little lump in my throat. The sadness in Candy's eyes just cuts right through you. They say Hughes shot almost twice as much film than usual PT&A, and it shows.

comment #22

Ray says ...

Sixteen Candles = genius.

comment #23

lipranzer says ...

"Maybe you had to be the right age to get into Hughes."

Fair enough. I was. I remember in high school all of my friends gushing over THE BREAKFAST CLUB (I had to wait till it came out on VHS because of how strict my parents were about my watching R-rated movies).

Intellectually, I can point out all the faults in things like 16 CANDLES, BREAKFAST CLUB, PRETTY IN PINK, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL, and even my favorite of Hughes' films, FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES lost me when it got sentimental in the last third) - they were a little racist (particularly the Long Duk Dong character in 16 CANDLES), the parents and authority figures are all one-dimensional (though Harry Dean Stanton in PRETTY IN PINK and John Ashton in SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL add some depth), some scenes, like Ally Sheedy's makeover in BREAKFAST CLUB, just make me cringe now, and the characters were often too self-absorbed (to say nothing of most of the actors at the time who played them).

However, to those of us who were teens at the time, he took us seriously instead of talking down to us, he understood the cliques we had to go through (as well as seeing past those cliques, in the best parts of BREAKFAST CLUB and PRETTY IN PINK), and he took our emotions about love and happiness seriously. Also, looking back, they compare favorably to today's teen comedies in one major aspect, and that's class. Except for Ferris Bueller (who I'd say was middle-class for the time - he owned a computer, anyway), all of his heroes were lower class, and had to struggle because of it. Oh, and I think the music still holds up - I still own the soundtracks to PRETTY IN PINK and SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL.

While I hate the formulaic screenplays he wrote in the 1990's, I will still miss the movies that helped me get through the 80's. R.I.P, Mr. Hughes.

comment #24

dixiedugan says ...

I still laugh at Sixteen Candles, and think of it fondly. I was a couple years older than those kids, but the teen blues were just so accurately portrayed, even if your own situation wasn't the same as those characters the feelings and emotions certainly were.

comment #25

Mr. F. says ...

Vacation... how the hell did I forget about Vacation? (I've always thought of it as more of a Hughes movie than a Ramis)

comment #26

sumo-pop says ...

PTA is his best as a director. I'm fine with 16 candles and love the Breakfast Club despite the obvious manipulations, but I"d say that Pretty in Pink is the best of the teen flicks he was associated with. Damn shame he couldn't build on PTA. Uncle Buck and Curly Sue,,,UGH

comment #27

Rod32303 says ...

RIP.

Here's what's odd, a bit His films were kind of funky and really did transcend all kinds of things, including race. You wouldn't or couldn't find an African-American, unless a threat or the joke, and it never ever mattered because if you were of the age that Hughes intended his audience to be, he spoke to you. You could have been super cool, or like frankbooth said, a little old in the tooth for him, but if you were that age group? No one better. Those first three - 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science (Anthony Michael Hall was genius in much of that) were a trifecta that "we" got - I literally paid to see 16 and Breakfast four times in the theater, always packed, no one talking, lots of laughter and joy. And if it's true that time or nostalgia makes us reflect kinder on his body of work than deserved, so be it. Emotionally investments when you are 16 or 17 and seeing a Hughes film - well, they are strong and powerful and lasting.

He "got" us.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles, released when all of "us" were in our 20's, was a different bird - a more mature Hughes with a solid beginning middle and end, and true exploration of adult themes. Beautifully made.

comment #28

corey3rd says ...

Curly Sue was robbed of Oscar glory

comment #29

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

LOL...Jesus. Massey, you dick.

Just me or is that like a Bizarro version of Angeline Jolie? And by Bizarro I do mean why does it look like every part of her body is standing directly in front of 100 of those crazy mirrors in a funhouse?

Well, so much for Weird Science.

comment #30

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

They just did a piece on John Hughes on the radio (yeah, the old boxes with the knobs with a lot of dust on them), and they actually got the money quote ("a quintessential director that will be remembered for generations") from Macaulay Culkin.

Now I'm trying really hard not to judge here (the man was only 59, for goodness sake), but couldn't they have gotten someone with a little more class? Molly Ringwald? Jami Gertz? Chris Columbus? Ben friggin' Stein? Andy "the Diceman" Clay?

If people thought I was dead, and I was really just in a coma, and I somehow miraculously came back to life to learn that media outlets were leaving my legacy up to the Home Alone boy, I think I'd make damn sure to voluntarily off myself for good.

comment #31

corey3rd says ...

Michael Jackson and John Hughes dead and Macaulay connects them.... Don't be surprised when Macaulay is declared "The Home Alone Homicidal Maniac."

comment #32

Rod32303 says ...

RIngwald, Stein, Broderick, Demi Moore have all released statements - maybe not on the radio (smile) but you can find what they said. ALL are glowing (different from that baby boy bullshit) and Stein's is particularly surprising and loving.

comment #33

Manitoba says ...

I would recommend Roger Ebert's piece entitled "John Hughes:In Memory." Ebert gives a Chicago and Illinos perspective on a man who avoided Los Angeles.He mentions Hughes is survived by his wife of 39 years, Nancy, two sons and four grandchildren.

comment #34

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Mr. F - I did forget about the Vacation trilogy (as far as I can tell he had nothing to do with the Vegas abomination), even if he did only write those films. They're a little uneven (there's probably two really good comedies between them), but there's undeniably some classic stuff in all three.

Anyone know the true origin of "Wally World?" It was an actual theme park first, right? Then it was portrayed in the movie, and now it's used as a nickname for Wal-Mart, Wally Szczerbiak, etc?

comment #35

the400blows says ...

For a film on a suburban family in Chicago during the 80s, I'll take ORDINARY PEOPLE over any of John Hughes' films. I'm sorry the guy is no longer with us, but I'm not going to get carried away with how I feel about his unrealistic movies. I don't think he's helping teenagers by giving them false hope that a knight in shining armor will save their lives, such as Andrew McCarthy in PRETTY IN PINK and Emilio Estevez in BREAKFAST CLUB. I personally feel th growth of Timothy Hutton in ORDINARY PEOPLE is a lot more important. I learned a lot about family relationships in that film.

comment #36

Circumvrent says ...

the400blows lives up to their verb.

comment #37

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

eh

comment #38

jmevans says ...

Bueller was a classic. Can't believe someone would state this:

"With their eager-to-please, cutesy dance numbers and ultimate endorsement of the status quo."

Hilarious. It's like you are trying to find a reason to not like a beloved film.

Anyways, Jeff, I'd love to read an in depth mag article at some point discussing Hughes' later years. Saw a photo of him on NYPOST when they posted the death story and he had become very large in size. Amen to the importance of healthy living and eating.

comment #39

Gordie Lachance says ...

Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club & Ferris Bueller will never be included in any conversation about the 'Best Ever' films of all time, but Hughes' films were so compulsively watchable I think I have seen all 3 more times than any other films ever made, or ever will be made, and to this day can recite the dialogue from each beginning to end from memory.

Sad to see someone who contributed so much go so young.

comment #40

corey3rd says ...

A reason to not like Ferris - because Ferris is a self-centered prick who used and abused everyone - especially his pal Cameron. He talked about getting Cameron laid - but did he help him hook up? Nope. He spent all this time teasing Cameron with his own hot girlfriend - and set Cameron up for a road to destruction by selfishly stealing Cameron's dad's car. It's a wankfest to a wanker. People who "beloved" Ferris weren't smart enough to sneak into a screening of Blue Velvet.

You know what makes Teen Angst? Discovering that you wasted your youth watching his movies when you could have been seeing the R-rated cut of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Damone would kick Ferris' ass. And why watch Molly Ringwald pout when you have Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool? John Hughes was on par with Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign. At the end of the day, his films weren't even close to the reality lived or that you even wanted to live. He made teen movies you could watch with your elderly aunt in the room.

comment #41

Butters says ...

Man, that is sad news. I like Home Alone a lot. Maybe becasue of the John Williams score. It is certainly my favorite Hughes Movie. (Planes and Trains is a close second for me) I like about the first third of Ferris, but when he acually gets to Chicago it gets to ridulous. I can really do without rest of his movies, Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles are so overrated. Partly becasue it seems like every teen drama on tv at some point has to do a Breakfast Club episode. All the main characters end up in detention, blah blah. Just seeing the news makes me want to get in a vewing of Home Alone at some point this weekend.

comment #42

Butters says ...

Good call Corey3rd. He steals Cameron's dad's car and makes Cameron get on the phone with Principle Rooney so he can get his hot girlfriend out of school and then he doesn't even return the favor by finding a hot girl for Carmeron. Also, the house that was used for Cameron's house in the movie was put up for sale in suburban Chicago earlier this year. Don't know if anyone bought it. I think it was listed at $2.5 Million.

comment #43

jmevans says ...

Yeah, Ferris was a self centered prick. The entire fucking movie was based on you wanting him to get away with skipping school that day. Who was rooting for him to get caught by his parents at the end? God you are a dumb fuck Corey. Get off your Blue Velvet high horse.

comment #44

corey3rd says ...

I was rooting for Jeffrey Jones to get a piece of Ferris' ass.

comment #45

mccool says ...

Ferris cared about his friend...he just cared about himself more. What's important is that he cared at all... after you've lived for a few decades you realize that's about the most you can hope for from another human being. A friend who puts your happiness in front of their own? That's an unreasonable expectation. Parent, spouse if you're lucky...friend? 1 in a million maybe. And this was just one day. And even a friend who does sacrifice for you isn't going to do it every day. So this was ferris' day.

Regardless, ferris made people happy. Whether he used and abused them or inspired them, perception is reality. Anyone who doesn't like ferris is jealous they couldn't be like him in real life. Fact.

As for Hughes....Planes, vacation, bueller, Xmas vacation, Dutch, she's having a baby....the guy knew how to write and he could strike a chord. No loss to modern cinema, but definitely the passing of a legend in his own right.

comment #46

DeeZee says ...

corey: Why would someone who went to see Ferris Bueller even care about Blue Velvet? And the only thing Fast Times has going for it is the pool scene. Everything is lazy writing.

Butters: So I take it you're a fan of "Not Another Teen Movie"?

comment #47

hiviper says ...

The best stuff Hughes did was for National Lampoon in its heyday. OC & Stiggs, etc.

His movies were for the most part, sentimental, cliched crap

RIP

comment #48

bill weber says ...

aside from "Some Kind of Wonderful" (directed by Howard Deutsch), lousy fucking movies. Although I never made it past the first 5 obnoxious minutes of "Ferris."

Admittedly I've never seen "Planes, Trains."

comment #49

larry braverman says ...

hughes is better than apatow

comment #50

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"I was rooting for Jeffrey Jones to get a piece of Ferris' ass."

That's a somewhat reprehensible thing to post on a supposed obit. piece for a director, but damned it if didn't make me laugh...hard.

Apparently, I am somewhat of a reprehensible person.

comment #51

Rich S. says ...

In all the discussions about Hughes' 80s films, I'd almost completely forgotten that he wrote Vacation '58 for National Lampoon. To this day, it's still one of the funniest things I've ever read:

http://www.bizbag.com/Vacation/Vacation%2058.htm

The movie changes the focus from the kid to the father, and as a result, I think it really loses something. The short story is truly a gem.

comment #52

kamichojin says ...

What, no love for Career Opportunities? Mediocre movie, but Hughes deserves sainthood for all those loving shots of Jennifer Connelly in wife beater riding the hobby horse.

comment #53

corey3rd says ...

"Regardless, ferris made people happy. Whether he used and abused them or inspired them, perception is reality. Anyone who doesn't like ferris is jealous they couldn't be like him in real life. Fact."

what a pathetic view of the universe although it does explain the rise of George W Bush. it was dan quayle's favorite film.

did you want to steal a car and let your friend take the blame for your actions? Cameron got nothing out of his friendship with Ferris outside of being a massive tool. Damone tried to get the Rat laid.

and I thought everyone in the 80s wanted to be Michael Jackson or Madonna or Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce

comment #54

Movie Watcher says ...

1st Home Alone/Uncle Buck/ Ferris were ok.
The Vacation movies/16 candles not so much.
Still a good career.
R.I.P John Hughes.

comment #55

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Thanks for that link, Rich, never read that before.

comment #56

Baltimore says ...

While it might seem nice to have glimpsed Cameron getting a GF, the essential path for Cam to grow into self-respecting manhood required him to overcome the domineering shadow of his oppressive father. Ferris knew this, and successfully helped Cameron grow a pair so that Cam will now be able to get a GF on his own w/o relying on Ferris' strategically arranged hand-me-downs.

comment #57

Butters says ...

Ha Ha DeeZee I am not a fan of "Not Another Teen Movie".

comment #58

mccool says ...

corey ... you love movies, but the studios view you as a pathetic peon who forks over 10 dollars at a time for the faint hope of experiencing two hours of happiness. You're going to tell me that's not a symbiotic relationship, despite the comfort one gives one party, while the second party holds nothing but contempt for the first? If not contempt, then apathy....certainly your happiness is much more vested in studio output than studio success is vested in anything relating to you, no?? Where in the universe are these perfectly balanced relationships you're experiencing? Am I tall enough for that ride?

comment #59

free games says ...

I still think Sixteen Candles is one of the best teen comedies of all time.

comment #60

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comment #61

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