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  "description": "While John Hughes’ movies often portrayed a heightened reality, Pretty in Pink plays more like “reel life” than real life.",
  "path": "/try-a-little-tenderness-pretty-in-pink-turns-40/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-20T13:32:02.000Z",
  "site": "https://soduwelikelocal.news",
  "tags": [
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    "UDO 101: How to Read Durham’s Zoning Rules (Homeowner Guide)How to use the zoning map, the Use Table, and the standards to answer “what applies here?”Southpoint AccessWes Platt",
    "South Durham Restaurant Health Inspections - February 2026TL;DR Version: The top score went to The Wine Feed scoring 99.5. The restaurant with the lowest score was Nzinga’s Breakfast Café with a score of 90Southpoint AccessSouthpoint Access",
    "South Durham Grocery Price Check – Week of Feb. 19 2026South Durham grocery prices continued a slight downward trend.Southpoint AccessWes Platt",
    "[VIDEO] Nerdspresso Phase II Episode 6: Spoiled Breakfast Club?In the sixth episode, we reflect on the 40-year anniversary of John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club and discuss some other classic ’80s teen movies.Southpoint AccessWes Platt",
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  "textContent": "💌 **[Subscribe Free]**\n\n\n\nSouthpoint Access⁠ is sharing revenue with Rogers-Herr Middle School Music Boosters until March 31.\n\n Subscribe, sponsor, or donate! \n\n## News from the Neighborhood\n\nUDO 101: How to Read Durham’s Zoning Rules (Homeowner Guide)How to use the zoning map, the Use Table, and the standards to answer “what applies here?”Southpoint AccessWes PlattSouth Durham Restaurant Health Inspections - February 2026TL;DR Version: The top score went to The Wine Feed scoring 99.5. The restaurant with the lowest score was Nzinga’s Breakfast Café with a score of 90Southpoint AccessSouthpoint AccessSouth Durham Grocery Price Check – Week of Feb. 19 2026South Durham grocery prices continued a slight downward trend.Southpoint AccessWes Platt\n\n* * *\n\nIf you were a teenager in the ‘80s, the voice of your generation was in his thirties. John Hughes made films that spoke to youth in a way few movies have before or since. Being a teen that plunked down my hard-earned burger-flipping money to see _The Breakfast Club_ , _Pretty in Pink,_ and _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_ in theaters, I believed that Mr. Hughes was speaking for my kind. He was telling stories about contemporary suburban youth.\n\nHis characters weren’t caricatures or played by twenty-somethings. They looked like peers. And the themes were relatable, focusing on unrequited love, school dances, peer pressure, playing hooky, and other teen hallmarks. We saw ourselves in these characters. At the time, I remember thinking that John Hughes had the magic touch. He was blessed with remarkable empathy, an eye for casting, and an ear for awesome soundtracks.\n\nHis movies became shorthand for our experiences. In high school, I had a Contemporary Lit class where our teacher would have us sit on the floor once a week and share whatever was on our minds. We started referring to this time as our “Breakfast Club Talks”. During those moments, we discovered we were more alike than we thought as the cliques melted away. It felt like Hughes was the chronicler of my coming of age.\n\nIn reality, he was just a filmmaker on a hot streak. His alchemy was even starting to dissipate by 1986 when he released both _Pretty in Pink_ and _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_. Now, one of those movies still vibrates today with wicked charm, and the other one stars Molly Ringwald.\n\n_Ferris Bueller_ plays like a screwball comedy, an aspirational fantasy for teenage truants. _Pretty in Pink_ is heavy-handed and melodramatic. It gets weighed down by its own intentions.\n\n[VIDEO] Nerdspresso Phase II Episode 6: Spoiled Breakfast Club?In the sixth episode, we reflect on the 40-year anniversary of John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club and discuss some other classic ’80s teen movies.Southpoint AccessWes Platt\n\nMolly Ringwald (John Hughes’ muse from _Sixteen Candles_ and _The Breakfast Club_) played Andie, a fashion-forward nonconformist from the wrong side of the tracks. The opening moments of this movie literally reveal that her house is situated near the railroad tracks separating one income bracket from another. She lives with her father, Jack, played by the gruff Harry Dean Stanton.\n\nHe’s still reeling from his wife leaving them. Mostly, he's just a \"sad dad\" trope. Stanton is a great character actor wasted in a thankless role in this teeny bopper movie.\n\nThe themes in this flick aren’t subtle. Oh, I should mention, Andie goes to high school in an upper middle class neighborhood and is bullied by some snotty rich girls.\n\nNo, not these snotty rich girls.\n\nThis tension manifests itself every now and then with Andie speechifying to her teachers and classmates. Things then get interesting when sparks fly between her and Blane, a doe-eyed preppy kid played by Andrew McCarthy (of _St. Elmo’s Fire_ and __Mannequin__ fame). Does Andie follow her heart or stick with her clique? Both kids face pressure from their friends, who all view this budding romance as an act of defiance.\n\nAndie’s best friend, Duckie (superbly played by Jon Cryer from _TV’s Two and a Half Men_), especially has a hard time with her budding romance. Duckie harbors a not-so-secret crush for his gal pal and shares his displeasure with the iconic line: “His name is Blane? That’s not a name! It’s a major appliance!” Cryer is the enduring star of this movie.\n\nHe pulls focus despite being swaddled in some truly precious accessories (e.g., thrift-store jackets, John Lennon glasses, and some natty porkpie hats). His lip-synching to Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” to get Andie’s attention while she toils away at the local record store is this flick’s lone standout scene. Duckie and Iona, Andie’s hipster boss (played by Annie Potts of TV’s _Young Sheldon_), are truly the only joyful characters in this whole overwrought modern fable.\n\nAndie and Blane flirt and pine like they’re in a toothless version of _Romeo & Juliet_. This movie __ replaces dueling houses of Verona with warring high school cliques. It substitutes hurt feelings for tragedy. Andie and Blane are driven apart by class differences and the casual cruelty of his insufferable pals, Steff and Benny (James Spader from _Sex, Lies & Videotape_ (and MANNEQUIN!) and Kate Vernon from SyFy’s _Battlestar Galactica_ reboot).\n\nWhile we’re on the subject, has there ever been a more righteous movie asshole than James Spader? From this flick to _Less Than Zero_ to _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ , no one does snide quite like him.\n\nDespite Steff’s sly malevolence, Andie and Blane’s love still triumphs in the end. Following a tearful breakup, they are reunited at the senior prom.\n\nWhile John Hughes’ movies often portrayed a heightened reality, _Pretty in Pink_ plays more like “reel life” than real life. It features an idealized teen universe full of snappy comebacks and quirky fashion. Andie rises above heartbreak to appear victorious in a dress that can be best described as couture designed by Little Debbie. Blane steps forward to embrace her in front of his disapproving snobby friends.\n\nA lot of people quibble at this finale, which was hastily put together after test audiences balked at Andie walking off with Duckie in the original ending. It’s this rejiggered finale, plus the movie’s emphasis on style over substance, that makes me think that _Pretty in Pink_ is more interested in selling a vibe than telling a story. Is this because Hughes didn’t direct this one himself? Even with its faults, this movie still gives me a nice nostalgia buzz.\n\n _Pretty in Pink_ still takes me back to those days when stuff like Molly Ringwald choosing Andrew McCarthy over Jon Cryer mattered. The memories are precious even if this flick feels more like a commodity than, say, _The Breakfast Club_. I enjoyed watching it again recently to celebrate it turning 40. Those of us who hit puberty between 1983 and 1988 will always have a soft spot for John Hughes. Watching his films feels as comforting as looking through old yearbooks.\n\n\n\nWant More Overcaffeinated Chatter? Join Jeff Stanford and Wes Platt for episodes of Nerdspresso Phase II!\n\n Nerd Out with Jeff and Wes! \n\n  * Follow Nerdspresso ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠on Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.\n  * ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our subreddit!⁠⁠⁠⁠\n\n\n\n* * *\n\nDONATE AND SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS IN SOUTH DURHAM!\n\n## **Get Connected**\n\n  * Send email to ⁠⁠⁠your neighborhood news guy: **wes.platt@southpointaccess.news**\n  * Follow on ⁠⁠⁠**Bluesky⁠⁠⁠**\n  * Join******⁠⁠⁠our Discord community⁠⁠⁠**\n  * Join **the Southpoint Access subreddit**!\n\n\n\n## 🤝 **Support Our Sponsors**\n\nLocal journalism in **South Durham** survives thanks to the generous businesses and organizations that make this work possible. 🧭\n\nBy supporting these sponsors, you’re helping ** _Southpoint Access_** continue to deliver trusted, hyperlocal news and resources for our community - from school updates to neighborhood stories that keep South Durham connected.\n\n💛 **Shop local. Hire local. 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  "title": "Try A Little Tenderness: Pretty in Pink Turns 40",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-20T13:32:02.000Z"
}