I feel like the recent death of John Hughes deserves some sort of tribute post:
Because I just really love teen movies circa the '80s.
Some see it as the decade that was a vapid, cultural wasteland, but I think the movies prove differently and are pretty much an art form unto themselves.
They are filled with perfectly quirky moments and off-center characters, pulled off effortlessly - a trait any indie movie today would kill for.
The angst lacks the melodrama of a Garden State.
No teen stars today are half as visually interesting or un-airbrushed as Molly Ringwald or Ally Sheedy.
There are so many iconic moments and memorable quotes that ensure they'll live forever, like that image of John Cusack holding up a stereo in the rain for Say Anything.
And they make you fall in love with bands like The Smiths.
Personally, my all-time favorite is Better Off Dead.
Because a young John Cusack is irresistibly charming and the science projects, $2 paperboy and dancing hamburgers are hilarious.
But there are so many classics...
Back to the Future I and II.
Big.
Dirty Dancing and my all-time favorite quote, "I carried a watermelon."
Teen Witch with my other favorite quote, "Nobody's comin' to your Sweet Sixteen party Louise."
And of course, the incomparable:
Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Cameron being my favorite character.
Breakfast Club.
Sixteen Candles.
and
Pretty in Pink.
(There's also my '80s favorites Airplane!, When Harry Met Sally, Working Girl, Cocktail, Rain Man and Overboard - but they don't fit into the teen movie category).
So, take a moment to enjoy a perfectly '80s movie. Preferably catching it on a random channel like TBS or TNT on a lazy Saturday morning, while you're eating cereal in pajamas.
Because in the words of Ferris Bueller:
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
