We'll Miss You, John Hughes, or the one where I geek out about 80's teen movies.

I just read that John Hughes died today. If you know me in real life, you’ll know that I have a major soft spot for 80’s teen movies, especially the John Hughes-written ones. My favorites (me and a gazillion other girls), hands down, are Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club and the much under appreciated Some Kind of Wonderful. Scroll through his credits on imbd.com and you’ll find a million other gems, too, lots of them films outside the teen crisis type. Still, the teenager ones are the ones I like best.

Just yesterday, my boyfriend and I were talking about movies, as he likes to do, and I was trying to explain to him why I don’t like most formula chick flicks. Those reasons constitute another post for another day and mostly have to do with unrealistically happy endings, but let me say right now that while my fave John Hughes movies have happy endings, they’re always the kind of happy endings that I can really believe in.

I think that this is because John Hughes had the rare ability to create pure characters that people trust. Whenever I read really good writing, the good comes from the fact that I can feel that human element. But even writing with the human connection often lacks these pure characters that amaze and inspire me. I’ve wanted to be a variety of things, all having to do with writing, and the pure character is something I believe all writers long to construct. It’s harder than it seems, and, when done well, creates a story relatable enough to connect the reader/viewer/whatever with humanity as a whole.

I believe that when we can watch and read these pure characters, we learn how to better understand, trust and love other people. Not every writer can give us these characters, but we need them.

Thanks, Mr. Hughes.