Very few movies made in the last 20 years are as timeless or memorable as the movies of the 80’s…take Pretty in Pink for instance, the John Hughes-written, Howard Deutch-directed drama about a girl from the wrong side of the tracks torn between the advances of a rich, handsome schoolmate and her geeky but soulful best friend.
Pretty in Pink director, Howard Deutch said Pretty in Pink was particularly special for John Hughes because it was the first time he was also producing a film.
Molly Ringwald became John’s muse through their collaborations on Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. Paramount pictures didn’t want to cast Molly at first, throwing out other names like Jodie Foster, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tatum O’Neal and Lori Laughlin were considered for the part of Andie.
Pretty in Pink is known for its lost ending as much as anything.
The film originally ended with Andie choosing Duckie and not Blane. The climax of the movie was shown to a test audience at an early screening at the Paramount Theater on the studio’s Hollywood lot, at the end when Andie chose Duckie, the crowed booed.
In 2012, Ringwald told Out magazine that she thought the quirky Duckie was actually secretly gay. “Duckie doesn’t know he’s gay,” Ringwald said at the time. “I think he loves Andie in the way that [my gay best friend] always loved me.”
Cryer later disputed the claim, and Deutch sides with the Duckie actor on the issue.