Duckie may have had it out for Blane, but the feud extended behind the scenes as well, as Jon Cryer and Andrew McCarthy did not jive while making teen movie classic Pretty in Pink. Now, Cryer says that has all settled…but who gets to go home with Andie?
Appearing on The View (per Entertainment Weekly), Jon Cryer said of Andrew McCarthy, “He and I famously did not get along when we were shooting Pretty in Pink…It was because there was tension. Interestingly, I saw him backstage and we had a lovely time, we had a great talk. Thank you!”
Cryer went on to detail why he and McCarthy didn’t get along during Pretty in Pink, citing issues that were far deeper that what we see onscreen. “At any rate, what I realize now, he wrote a terrific memoir called Brat, he was already struggling with alcoholism back when we were shooting that movie. I’d projected all this stuff on him at the time, I thought he’s this sullen guy that doesn’t want to talk to me. We’re enemies [as characters] on the movie, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends…But we just had no rapport whatsoever at the time. I found out later he was going through some tough stuff. That was such a lesson for me, it’s all about projection. You never know.”
Jon Cryer has been open about his time making Pretty in Pink plenty of times, recently explaining just how much Duckie remains close to who he strives to be. Yet, while Pretty in Pink remains an essential of the Brat Pack movie lineup, Cryer isn’t officially a member of the group, having only appeared in that entry (although No Small Affair does dance around the canon). However, Andrew McCarthy is, having starred in not just that Howard Deutch movie (John Hughes only wrote it, although we wouldn’t blame you for thinking he directed it) but also St. Elmo’s Fire and Class. McCarthy even has a documentary on the group, titled Brats, headed to Hulu later this year.
Where does Pretty in Pink rank in your favorite Brat Pack movies? Let us know!