I Miss U all my Blog

High school is hell, especially for geeks Gary & Wyatt. Tired of being bullied and not being able to get a girl Gary & Wyatt decide to do the most outlandish thing they can think of – make a girlfriend ala Frankenstein, using Wyatt’s computer. Enter Lisa, their creation; she’s everything the boys want and makes them the envy of their high school and their bullies, but there’s on problem – Lisa isn’t content to be their dream girl, she wants to pop them out of their shell and make them the boys she wants them to be.

John Hughes has made a lot of movies and to my experience so far Weird Science is the strangest. I’ve never seen Hughes dabble in science fiction before but I have to say his take on Frankenstein was entertaining.

As always Hughes has incredible characters. Gary and Wyatt are fun, entertaining teens to watch that never leave you wondering why they are the center of the film. They have a bond that is second only to the ladies in Sex & the City; they finish each others sentences, spend all their time together and admire the opposite sex as their greatest hobby. However, Hughes does what he does best and somehow infuses these crazy, hair-brained teen boys with a human heart and soul.

What I honestly forgot about Weird Science is that Robert Downey Jr. plays one of the bullies. Man was he young, but even then he commanded the screen. Also sharing the screen was Bill Paxton as Wyatt’s older brother and what was funny to see was that he has looked exactly the same for his entire career – even then you can see the influences that will later make great characters like Hudson in Aliens.

Weird Science is a quintessential teen movie that has to be seen by a Hughes fan or anyone that still remembers the horrors of being a teenager. So pop in the DVD, get loaded up on sugar and remember what it was like to be in high school.

Director & Writer: John Hughes
Gary Wallace: Anthony Michael Hall
Lisa: Kelly LeBrock
Wyatt Donnelly: IIan Michael-Smith
Chet Donnelly: Bill Paxton
Ian: Robert Downey Jr.

Wyatt: Gary?... By the way, why are we wearing bras on our heads?
Garry: Ceremonial.

I didn’t discover Ferris Bueller’s Day Off until I began to work at a video store. You see, for some reason I have a void where pop-culture from the 1980’s should be so when my managers decided to playstock Ferris Bueller I just went with it.

The thing about putting movies in playstock is that while you don’t get to sit and watch them while working, you still experience them because they never fully become background noise to you. Action movies are normally the worst, because every time a loud bang, explosion or scream occurs you automatically look at the televisions around the store, but a comedy can be just as bad. When you are shelving videos or doing another or a hundred mindless tasks and you learn the movie without ever trying. Before long you know lines of dialogue, know scenes of the film or characters names, and when it’s a movie like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off you really want to start putting those moments you’ve become so familiat with into context. So I did.

After a few weeks of Ferris & Cameron being a regular part of my work rotation I caved and saw the film and have forever been glad I did. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the quirky, slacker anthem of a generation and no matter how outlandish it gets, it’s a slice of the American high school experience as only John Hughes could do.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a film that everyone can appreciate somehow. John Hughes does that. He makes films with outlandish characters, extreme situations, high emotion and somehow manages to leave you with a completely relatable film that you never tire of watching.

I will miss John Huges every time I watch one of this films.

Director & Writer: John Hughes
Ferris Bueller: Matthew Broderick
Cameron Frye: Alan Ruck
Sloane Peterson: Mia Sara
Jeanie Bueller: Jennifer Grey

Ferris: Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.

Kevin is lost in the shuffle when his Mom & Dad invite his entire extended family to stay at his house the day before they all leave for Paris for Christmas. When they accidently leave him at home they don’t discover the blunder until they are on their flight to Paris and it will take days to get a return flight. While alone Kevin believes he’s wished his family into oblivion and enjoys his new freedom, until two oafish thugs start to burglar the homes in the neighborhood and Kevin realizes his house is next and he has to defend it.

I remember seeing Home Alone in the theatre at a child and absolutely adorning it. The thought that I could set such grand, screwball trap at my house and outsmart two adults was absolutely the coolest thing ever. The best part is that as an adult I am able to watch Home Alone and still enjoy it thanks to the formidable talents of John Hughes.

Hughes had a way of finding the human, universally relatable elements in his characters no matter their age. This film is almost Planes, Trains & Automobiles for children, and the themes and humor play to children and adults alike. Hughes makes Kevin at once annoying and loveable, he’s a confused kid who comes to realize he should be careful what he wishes for and Kevin’s mother is domineering and nurturing, the mother that disciplines her child and regrets it – something every kid wants and something at most point most parents feel when they go too far with a punishment. This movie is as much about the bond between family, and learning to appreciate is as it is about the Wet Bandits, homemade traps, and caring about your neighbors.

Perhaps what’s best about this film is unlike too many film and television shows from start to finish Kevin is a child. He may have momentary insights in how to cope with situations, or flashes of inspiration but he is not spouting wisdom and intelligence well beyond his years. Kevin is not a boy genius; he uses micro machines and toys in his homemade booby traps and escapes to his tree house, and in the end still needs to be rescued by an adult.

John Hughes was a master at what he did. The only thing that could have made Home Alone more of a classic than it already is would be if Hughes had directed instead of merely penned the script.

Director: Chris Columbus
Writer: John Hughes
Kevin McCallister: Macaulay Culkin
Harry: Joe Pesci
Marv: Daniel Stern
Peter McCallister: John Heard
Kate McCallister: Catherine O’Hara
Gus Polinski: John Candy

Kate: This is Christmas. The season of perpetual hope. And I don't care if I have to get out on your runway and hitchhike. If it costs me everything I own, if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I am going to get home to my son.

Steve Martine and John Candy are comedy geniuses; each has a very different style yet somehow in Planes, Trains & Automobiles they work together flawlessly.

Neal Page and Del Griffith have one thing in common, they are both trying to get to Chicago and their plane gets stranded states away because of a snowstorm. Neal reluctantly agrees to team up with Del to find another way home and together the men not only irritate each other to no end, but run into every trial you can imagine from being forced to ride in the back of a hillbillies pick up truck to being stolen from in a motel room. This movie is a traveler’s nightmare and that alone makes it one of the funniest films you’ll enjoy about something that might actually happen to you.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a John Hughes film and I have to say it is the first Hughes film I’ve seen that is an adult story. While the teen angst I’ve come to associate so much with Hughes was gone, the anal, goofy, uptight characters were still a perfect fit for Hughes mentality. Between his knack for comedy and the extreme talents of Martin and Candy no joke is misplaced and even the most surreal situations retain their comic power.

I was a child when John Candy died and I have to say that I don’t really remember many of his performances with clarity. Watching Planes, Trains & Automobiles reminded me that Candy was a powerful comic in his heyday and his films should still be watched.

What I liked so much about Planes, Trains & Automobiles is again that it is film whose comedy doesn’t rely on the trends of its contemporary pop culture to be funny like Shrek or Murphy Brown, it finds its humor in the humanity of its characters and situations and that is what will make the film last and remain fresh for many years to come.

Director & Writer: John Hughes
Neal Page: Steve Martin
Del Griffith: John Candy
State Trooper: Michael McKean
Taxi Racer: Kevin Bacon
Car Rental Agent: Edie McClurg

Del: You know I had a feeling that when we parted ways. We would somehow wind up back together again. I've never seen a guy get picked up by his testicles before. Lucky thing for you that cop passed by when he did. Otherwise, you'd be lifting up your schnutz to tie you shoes. I'm sorry. That's terrible. Do you have any idea how glad I am I didn't kill you?
Neal: Do you have any idea how glad I'd be if you had?

When I was a kid my favorite movie to watch during the holidays was National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. To this day I don’t know if anything in my young life made me laugh harder than the first time I saw the squirrel and the Christmas tree. I partially blame this film for my little brother’s obsession with Christmas lights.

This is a modern screwball comedy at its best. Christmas Vacation is what we have nightmares about actually happening when we are forced into large family holiday gathering lived out by Chevy Chase and his fictional family. It becomes funny because it’s extreme cases of holiday situations – and it’s not happening to us. From chopping down his own Christmas tree to lighting the house Clark wants his Christmas to be perfect and doesn’t want to admit that his plans have gotten way out of hand and everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

I do recommend watching this movie at least once a Christmas and it will help to cure some of the holiday blues. After all, I don’t think most of us have to deal with a trailer park cousin dropping in unexpectedly and dumping his RV’s sewage tank into our sewer creating a methane gas buildup that later blows the front yard to hades. You’ll find something to laugh at.

Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik
Writer: John Hughes
Clark Griswold: Chevy Chase
Ellen Griswold: Beverly D’Angelo
Audrey Griswold: Juliette Lewis
Rusty Griswold: Johnny Galecki
Clark Griswold Sr.: John Randolph
Nora Griswold: Diane Ladd
Art Smith: EG Marshall
Frances Smith: Doris Roberts
Cousin Eddie: Randy Quaid

Clark: We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols.
Audrey: We're not coming all the way out here just to get one of those stupid ties with Santa Clauses on it are we?
Clark: No, I have one of those at home.