Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

John Hughes is the rare example of the screenwriter being the auteur (this distinction is usually held for movie directors); the movies that he wrote/produced throughout the 80s have a unique vision to them despite being helmed by different directors.  While most teenage comedies of the 80s were “cash ins,” one senses that Hughes had a genuine sympathy for teenagers. His movies tend to be more realistic (well, except Weird Science and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) depictions of high school life and the dilemmas most teenagers face in during that crucial time.  

I can’t write about Some Kind of Wondeful without bring up Pretty in Pink, as the former is a largely a reworking of the latter movie (with the gender roles swapped). In Pretty in Pink, the love triangle consists of Andie – Blain – Duckie, while in Some Kind of Wonderful it is Keith – Amanda – Watts. In John Hughes original script (and original cut) of Pretty in Pink, the female protagonist, Andie (Molly Ringwald) wound up with the eccentric Duckie (Jon Cryer) at the movie’s conclusion. However, test audiences disapproved of this ending, so it was reshot with Andie hooking up with the more conventional leading man, Blain (Andrew McCarthy).  This changed irked Hughes so much – whose heart was with Duckie- that he decided to rework Pretty in Pink as Some Kind of Wonderful, in which it is the misfit who is given the happy ending.  In Wonderful, the effeminate Duckie is transformed into the tom boy, Watts, while Keith is Andy’s counterpart, and Amanda is the Blain surrogate.  

While it is a case of Hughes plagiarizing himself, I prefer Some Kind of Wonderful, if only because Watts is a far more believable love interest for Keith than Duckie was for Andie.  There’s an argument to be made that test audiences often ruin potentially great movies, but in the case of Pretty in Pink they had a point – the Duckie/Andie relationship is a classic case of unrequited love. Duckie places her high on a pedestal, while she barely tolerates him. If there was a single instance where Duckie made Andie smile, then maybe the ending would seem plausible, instead she seems to find him bothersome.  In the Pretty in Pink making of featurettes, Molly Ringwald states that she wanted Robert Downey, Jr. to play Duckie and she has a valid point – Jon Cryer is fine in the role, but he lacks the charisma of Downey.  I also prefer to the structure to Wonderful, which slowly builds to the date between Keith and Amanda. Pretty in Pink has the more conventional “Boy meets Girl – Boy loses Girl – Boy wins Girl back” structure that is prevalent in most teen comedies.  In Some Kind of Wonderful, Keith finds out that Amanda agreeing to go on a date with him is a “joke,” but goes along anyways so he can make a stand. 

It is a credit to John Hughes that the movie doesn’t demonize Amanda, the most popular girl in the school. She is a fairly sympathetic character – she initially agrees to go out with Keith to get back at her boyfriend, Hardy, but she isn’t a malicious person.  She also isn’t your stereotypical “rich bitch” as she lives in the same neighborhood as Keith and tolerates Hardy’s asshole behavior because being his girlfriend has lead to her being accepted by the popular crowd. She is also given a nice character arc; she confesses to Keith that she would rather be in a relationship for the wrong reasons, instead of being “right” and alone.  Later, when Keith realizes that his heart belongs to Watts, it is Amanda that encourages him to go after her.  Amanda would rather be “right,” than cling to a one sided relationship. While the movie is on Keith’s side, it does actually take him to task for his actions. When he berates Amanda for using him, she counters that he is also using her for his revenge. They are both guilty of being assholes. Keith realizes that she is right and apologizes.  Lea Thompson has such a sweet natured persona about her that makes it easy empathize with Amanda. 

Watts is the third leg in the love triangle and she is much more interesting than the “pretty best friend” that you usually find in these movies. She comes from a broken home and is actually envious of Keith’s home life – she tells him that he should feel lucky to have a dad that cares. She is walking contradiction; tough as nails on the outside and extremely vulnerable on the inside. She agrees to help Keith in his plan (by acting as his chauffeur) but can’t contain her jealously towards Amanda.  The interesting thing about Some Kind of Wonderful is how it constantly shifts our sympathies in the last half hour – you are simultaneously rooting for Keith, Watts, and Amanda.  It’s easy to cheer for Amanda when she finally stands up to Hardy, yet sympathize with Watts who feels that she is losing Keith.  Watts keeps her feelings so well guarded that it never occurs to Keith that she has a romantic interest in him, until the very end. The movie could have easily ended with Keith ending up with Amanda, and Watts being the self sacrificing one, and the audience probably would have been equally satisfied. Mary Stuart Masterson is very good in the role and manages to show Watts’ vulnerable side without making her seem pathetic. The movie greatly deglamorizes Masterson – she has short hair and wears men’s clothing. She’s still pretty, but at least the movie makers put a genuine effort into making her look and act like an outcast, instead of just slapping glasses on her face. 

John Hughes (and director Howard Deutch) has a great eye for family life. Some Kind of Wonderful does a great job of depicting the love/hate relationship siblings have for each other. Keith and his younger sister, Laura, are constantly bickering with each other, but when Laura finds out Hardy’s plans for her older brother, she instantly becomes Keith’s ally.  The Keith/Laura relationship is also responsible for the most contrived moment in Wonderful – Laura is at the mall with her friends and just happens to overhear Hardy’s plan to jump Keith at his party. This is too convenient (even Howard Deutch takes issue with it in the commentary), but it is a minor flaw in an otherwise strong film.

The other main conflict is between Keith and his father. Keith’s father keeps riding him to pick a college, but Keith is reluctant to do so. It never occurs to his father that maybe Keith doesn’t want to attend college; he just assumes it to be the case. Again, the nice thing about this relationship is that it easy to sympathize with both sides of the argument: Keith wants to be an artist, while his father wants what is best for him. Granted, this is a fairly clichéd storyline, but Eric Stolz and John Ashton absolutely sell it with their sincere performances.  

Stolz was initially cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, but was fired weeks into the production and replaced by Michael J. Fox.  Stolz in a fine actor, but his intense style of acting wouldn’t mesh with a blockbuster like Back to the Future, but it works perfectly well here. Keith has been marginalized his entire high school existence and finally decides to make a stand. He isn’t necessarily looking for trouble, but he is done with being treated like a doormat.  In the first half of the movie, his mind is set on getting a date with Amanda and fate seemingly intervenes on his behalf; Amanda breaks up with The Hardy right in front of Keith’s eyes.  In the final act, the date is less about winning Amanda’s heart and more about giving the ultimate middle finger to all his tormentors.  The fact that he finds an understanding with Amanda is just icing on the cake. 

There are few other touches I like:

1)      The montage that opens the movie. This is rather a unique way of beginning a movie, but it is extremely effective. In a matter of seconds the movie perfectly sets up the characters and where they in their lives (Keith is working at the gas station, Watts is banging on her drum kit, and Amanda and Hardy are making out).  The rapid editing and the heavy percussion score gives us a sense that these storylines are heading for a collision course (plus the not so subtle shot of Keith walking towards an oncoming train).

2)      Keith and the skinhead Duncan forming a bond over their artwork. Through a series of contrivances, Keith ends up in detention with Duncan and his gang of punk rockers.  Amanda is giving detention for being late to gym class, so Keith pulls the fire alarm and gives himself up so he can be with Amanda. Unbeknownst to him, Amanda manages to sweet talk her way out of detention – so it’s just Keith and the punk rockers. There are initial hostilities, but the two of them quickly become friends after viewing each other’s artwork – Duncan is etching something on the desktop, while Keith is drawing in his sketchpad.  The two of them nod approvingly and a friendship is born. 

3)      Keith becoming a folk a hero after landing a date with Amanda. After Amanda agrees to a date with Keith, the word quickly spreads throughout the high school. Amanda’s upper crust friends are embarrassed, but to all the outcasts in the school, Keith becomes a hero. Duncan congratulates Keith on his victory and then offers up his services to help the date go as smoothly as possible.  This is oddly reminiscent of a scene in Better Off Dead, when after Lane challenges the obnoxious Roy Stalin to a skiing race on top of the K-12 (the deadliest mountain in the state), the word immediately spreads and all the outcasts gather around Lane to wish him luck. 

Some Kind of Wonderful tends to be overlooked by fans of 80s cinema (it was the least profitable of the John Hughes teen comedies). The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day off, and Pretty in Pink enjoy greater popularity, but I would argue that Some Kind of Wonderful is John Hughes best movie. It’s the perfect culmination of all his tropes – his final say on the teenage genre that he helped create. It may have been conceived as a rebuttal to Pretty in Pink, but it is a movie that perfectly stands on its own.

Credits
Cast: Eric Stolz (Keith Nelson), Mary Stuart Masterson (Watts), Lea Thompson (Amanda Jones), Craig Sheffer (Hardy Jones), John Aston (Cliff Nelson), Elias Koteas (Duncan “Skinhead”), Maddie Corman (Laura Nelson), Molly Hagen (Shayne), Jane Elliott (Carol Nelson), Candace Cameron Bure (Cindy Nelson), Chynna Philips (Mia),  Scott Coffey (Ray), Lee Garlington (Gym Instructor).

Director: Howard Deutch
Screenplay: John Hughes
Running Time: 96 min.