The Shining Tales of John Hughes

2009-08-10

Le Flick: The Shining Tales of John Hughes

An Inuit folk tale tells us when people die they go into the sky and become bright shining stars.

John Hughes leaves here on earth a shining and comical collection of his own tales, as some film clips of his teenage movies, in particular, remind us.




For his fifty-nine years on the planet he had extensive credits as shown on Baseline. Baseline's founder summed it up well here:

In an unusually focused group of films in the mid-eighties (Sixteen Candles, 1984; Weird Science, 1985; Pretty in Pink, 1986; Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986; Uncle Buck, 1989), all set in the same Chicago suburb, writer-producer-director Hughes examined the roots of Generation X before anyone realized it existed. He did so with such understanding and style, displaying a sensitivity to adolescent concerns and middle-class family life that is as rare as it is precise.

- James Monaco, How to Read a Film


The Chicago Tribune shared some local insight on his films and life in the Chicago area. A number of blogs by those who grew up with his work, such as this fan, recalled Hughes' most memorable lines of dialogue such as one from the 1985 film, The Breakfast Club:

Screws fall out all the time, it’s an imperfect world.