Legendary Movie Man John Hughes Dead At Age 59 - Page 3
Of all of his films, there are two that will forever be quintessentially Hughes for me: "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," absolutely swimming in attitude, which captured brilliantly and irritatingly the kind of cockiness that you envy as a teen, hate as an adult, recognize no matter what age you are, and "The Breakfast Club," life deconstructed in high school detention, the archetypes and the anxiety playing out in real time.
By "Curly Sue" in 1991, Hughes had apparently tired of fighting battles with studio executives who second-guessed him.
He left Hollywood behind and headed back to the Chicago area, where he would still dabble in the business from a distance.
But really, Hughes was a creature of the '80s, and if he hadn't left Hollywood, it was on its way to leaving him.
Comedy took on more of an edge, went raunchier, darker, meaner than Hughes ever could.
In the end, like so many of the characters he created, Hughes had become a cinematic memory stream of another time when things didn't seem so bad.
I will light 16 candles and remember.
As will I. Honestly, I don't think any person before or after, captured a cultural phenomenon like that of the 80's as well as Hughes did, therein lies his genius. And quite frankly, the movie industry has yet to replace Hughes' unique insight into the teen psyche, and for that, we are a little less rich as a society.
R.I.P John Hughes, thanks for smoothing the edges of my teen years and making them seem almost normal.
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