Pretty in Pink is my favorite of the so-called "Brat Pack" movies of the 1980's (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and one of my all-time favorites. The story is simple and familiar -a girl from the wrong side of the tracks (in this case, literally) falls in love with a rich, popular boy. I fell in love with the movie the first time I saw it and returned to the movie theater at least a dozen times in first release. It was also the first video I ever bought (and paid full price, at that).
In the original screenplay by John Hughes, Andie's story didn't end up a happy ending. The ending was changed to be more appealing to the audience. The book (see photo at right) by H.B. Gilmour based on the screenplay does, however, keep the original ending, in which Andie ends up with Duckie, not Blane.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the movie is often hailed as one of the "classics" of the 1980's. It contains music by OMD, Suzanne Vega, INXS, The Psychedelic Furs (whose song gave the movie its title), New Order, and Echo and the Bunnymen, among others. My favorite song from the movie is not actually on the soundtrack: a short instrumental piece played during the scene in which the characters are preparing for the prom. I was unable to identify it until 1996, ten years after the movie's release. It's a track called "Thieves Like Us" by New Order - a bit of the instrumental version was what was played during the scene.






The cast of characters


Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald)
Andie is a senior in high school. She lives with her dad in a poorer section of town; her mother abandoned the family four years previously. Andie is independent, creative, and headstrong - and a romantic. She falls in love with Blane, although he is from a very different background.

Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy)


Blane is rich and handsome and also a high school senior. He is quiet and thoughtful. Although he hangs out with his rich friends, he doesn't care much for their behavior and finds Andie's company much more interesting. He's fallen in love with her, but he's pressured by friends and family to not see her because she's not rich and popular.

Jack Walsh (Harry Dean Stanton)


Jack is Andie's father. He is still struggling with his feelings for Andie's mother and can't seem to hold down a job for very long, but he loves Andie very much and is a good father to her.

Duckie Dale (Jon Cryer)


Duckie, whose real name is Phil, is Andie's longtime friend and classmate. He secretly loves Andie, but he can't get up the nerve to tell her. He tries to be funny, but often ends up making a fool of himself. He resents Andie's relationship with Blane.

Iona (Annie Potts)


Iona is Andie's friend and the owner of the record shop where she works. Although she is in her 30's, she dresses and acts like a teenager and is very funny. She is a sort of mentor/mother figure to Andie.

Steff (James Spader)


Steff is Blane's friend, a rich, handsome, but very stuck-up kid who has unsuccessfully tried to pick up Andie. He disapproves of Blane's relationship with Andie and encourages him to dump her.

Benny (Kate Vernon)


Benny is Steff's girlfriend, and a real snob. She makes life very difficult for Andie and her friends at school.

Jena (Alexa Kenin)


Jena is Andie's best female friend. She also comes from a less privileged family. She is more outspoken than Andie and sticks up for herself and Andie at school.

Simon (Dweezil Zappa)


Simon is another friend of Andie's and Jena's. He doesn't have much to say and appears to be spaced out or drugged out.

The Diceman (Andrew "Diceman" Clay)


The Diceman is the bouncer at the club where Andie hangs out. He allows Andie, Jena, and Simon into the club, although they are underage, but he refuses to let Duckie in, because he knows Andie doesn't want him there.




Sounds




Iona
Andi needs to believe in somebody
Blane
It's Blane's turn to believe
Duckie needs a ride home