Pretty in Pink (1986) Revisited: John Hughes Movie Review

Here at JoBlo Originals, we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with perhaps the greatest teen romance of all time, John Hughes’s 1986 classic Pretty in Pink, starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy and Jon Cryer. There’s a lot about this classic that folks get wrong, such as the fact that, despite Hughes being forever associated with it, it was actually directed by Howard Deutch. There was loads of behind the scenes drama in the making of this teen classic, with a hastily reshot ending, some mild tension between the stars, and more. Indeed, it was the last time Ringwald would work with Hughes, but in many ways its her most iconic performance and maybe the John Hughes teen classic that’s aged the best in a lot of ways. 

For one thing, it has a killer soundtrack, with The Psychedelic Furs reworking their classic track “Pretty in Pink” for the opening credits. Then there’s Orchestral Manuevers in the Dark’s incredible song, “If You Leave”, which has become a staple of many high school reunions in the years since it came out. It remains the movie Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy are best known for and has tremendous staying power. So join us as we look back at this stone-cold classic!

John Hughes Revisited is written, narrated and edited by Matthew Hacunda. Chris Bumbray and Adam Walton are the producers, and Berge Garabedian is the executive producer. Watch previous episodes below!

Do you think Pretty in Pink holds up? Let us know in the talkbacks below!