Welcome to the Season 2 Finale of Retromade! Today, we wrap up the long journey through writing and directing works of John Hughes in the 80s & 90s.
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Hello, hello, I'm Katie, and welcome to the
2
:Season 2 finale of "Retro Made."
3
:Today, we wrap up the long journey
through the writing and directing works
4
:of John Hughes in the '80s and '90s
5
:Let's first go through
the numbers of the season.
6
:We covered 30 movies, eight that
John Hughes wrote and directed, and
7
:22 that he wrote but did not direct.
8
:I was lucky enough to have
25 guest co-hosts join me.
9
:Thank you to you all.
10
:Somebody had to come on and bring some
class to the show, so thank you all.
11
:You all know who you are.
12
:I cannot thank you enough
for joining me this season.
13
:Now, we covered John Hughes' works in the
s, so that from:
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:there were only three years that were
not actually represented in the season.
15
:1999, because his last movie that
we covered, that he wrote, and
16
:produced was in 1998, in the '90s.
17
:But also there was no movie
released in:
18
:But he made up for that because
there were three movies released
19
:in a single year, and there were
three years that that happened.
20
:So the following years
had three movies released.
21
:1983, "Mr.
22
:Mom," "Vacation," and "Nate and
Hayes," AKA "Savage Islands."
23
:Also 1985 was a big one.
24
:That was "The Breakfast Club," "Weird
Science," and "European Vacation."
25
:And then 1991, "Career Opportunities,"
"Dutch," and "Curly Sue."
26
:There's another group of three.
27
:John actually had uncredited
cameos in three movies.
28
:Does anybody remember?
29
:Definitely The Breakfast
Club as Brian's dad.
30
:That's probably the one you all know.
31
:But also the National Lampoon's Class
Reunion, which none of you probably saw.
32
:But if you listen to the episode, you'll
remember that I had said that he played
33
:the girl with the paper bag on her
head that ended up being the murderer.
34
:And then also in Ferris Bueller's Day
Off, he is the man running between cabs.
35
:Now, of those 30 movies that we
covered, let's just quickly talk through
36
:them in the order of release date.
37
:The season did not go in order, obviously.
38
:What I did was when my guests
came on, I gave them the choice
39
:of what movie they wanted to
select, so it did not go in order.
40
:So here we are.
41
:In 1980, we have The Secret
Life of Nikola Tesla.
42
:Then in '82, Class Reunion,
National Lampoon's.
43
:In '83, Mr.
44
:Mom, Vacation, Nate and Hayes.
45
:1984 was Sixteen Candles.
46
:Then '85, The Breakfast Club,
European Vacation, and Weird Science.
47
:'86, there were two movies, Ferris
Bueller's Day Off and Pretty in Pink.
48
:Also two movies in 1987, Some
Kind of Wonderful, as well as
49
:Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
50
:Two more in '88, She's Having
a Baby and The Great Outdoors.
51
:Two more in '89, Uncle Buck
and Christmas Vacation.
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:One in 1990 with the big
blockbuster that was Home Alone.
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:'91, Career Opportunities,
Dutch, and Curly Sue.
54
:'92 had two movies, Beethoven!
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:and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
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:Dennis the Menace was in '93, and then
'94 also two movies, Baby's Day Out
57
:and Miracle on 34th Street, the remake.
58
:'96 we had the live action, remake
of 101 Dalmatians, and then two
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:in '97, Flubber and Home Alone 3.
60
:And then lastly, the one we just covered
that was released in:
61
:no one probably saw, Reach the Rock.
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:Okay.
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:I'm sure you all have favorites.
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:I'm sure that I brought some…
65
:I hope anyway, that I brought some of
these to your attention, and if you
66
:haven't seen them, and they are at
least somewhat easy to find, that you
67
:have, opened your viewership to some
of these lesser-known Hughes movies.
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:Or maybe you didn't realize that
some of these were Hu- Hughes movies.
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:We'll get to that.
70
:So ranking-wise, it's kind of difficult.
71
:I think from a…
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:Again, best movie versus favorites
are, are a little different.
73
:In this case, I think my favorite is
also the best, "The Breakfast Club."
74
:But then followed very closely in terms of
my favorites is "Weird Science," and then
75
:I would say "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
third, and then followed closely by "Mr.
76
:Mom" and "Home Alone."
77
:So that's kind of my top five.
78
:Least favorites, uh, if you've been
paying attention to the season at all, you
79
:know that I absolutely hated "Flubber,"
so that is 100% my least favorite.
80
:And then, I guess a little
bit surprisingly, uh, because
81
:"Reach the Rock" actually had,
a fairly good, I wanna say 6.6
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:if I remember correctly, IMDb rating.
83
:Probably based on very few, ratings.
84
:But while it's not the worst movie
I just feel like from an enjoyment
85
:perspective, I put this as my second
least favorite, because if you asked
86
:me to re-watch any of the 30, I
would pick, aside from "Flubber," I
87
:would pick that one second to last
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:So I would probably rather, if I
had to, even some that I didn't
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:love, I would rewatch some of
the others over Reach the Rock.
90
:So those are my favorites
and least favorites.
91
:The highest rating from an IMDb
perspective, we have two that have a 7.8
92
:IMDb rating, and that is of
course The Breakfast Club and
93
:then Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
94
:Uh, actually, I'm sorry, There
was three that had a 7.8,
95
:also Home Alone.
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:Hmm, the worst, let's see.
97
:There's two movies that have
a tied for the, the worst
98
:IMDb rating, which is a 4.6,
99
:and that is Class Reunion, National
Lampoon's, and Home Alone 3.
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:So there we go.
101
:That's what I thought.
102
:That's what IMDb thought.
103
:If you guys have thoughts, I'm sure
we all agree on some of them, but
104
:there might be surprises out there.
105
:Does anyone share my rankings exactly?
106
:Or were there any surprises for you guys?
107
:Any that you did not think you
were gonna like and you ended
108
:up enjoying, or vice versa?
109
:More so, as we talked through in
the episodes, I was starting to
110
:discover a lot of running themes, some
observations, and some connections.
111
:So I wanted to talk through
those with you guys today.
112
:Definitely the Chicago of it all.
113
:This is a living, breathing character.
114
:Hughes created this idealized
romantic mythos of this windy city.
115
:His lens cast a spell that made the
snow-draped suburbs, the towering skyline,
116
:and iconic landmarks like Wrigley Field,
the Art Institute of Chicago, obviously
117
:the skyline and Michigan Avenue.
118
:He made them feel like the ultimate,
this magical landscape of American life.
119
:And he spent essentially two decades
directing what was essentially the
120
:most beautiful, heartfelt tourism
campaign ever, and it worked.
121
:It is likely no coincidence that
Chicago is my favorite American city.
122
:Anyone else think that, uh, John
Hughes maybe had a hand in that, maybe?
123
:A little bit?
124
:Speaking of which, advertising plays a
fairly significant role in Hughes' movies.
125
:So Hughes pulling from his own
background in advertising, as we've
126
:talked about in some of the e- episodes.
127
:He used to be an ad man
in the '70s, I wanna say.
128
:And so we see this pop up in a few
different ways in Hughes' movies,
129
:one of which obviously is the careers
that some of the characters have.
130
:So Caroline in Mr.
131
:Mom, Neal in Planes, Trains,
and Automobiles, and Jake
132
:in She's Having a Baby.
133
:There's also pretty heavy-handed
product placement in a lot of movies.
134
:Just a quick example would be
Pepsi in Home Alone, and a lot
135
:of memorable catchphrases in
Hughes' movies, so memorable
136
:catchphrases, slogans, and taglines.
137
:There's so many famous lines of dialogue
that Hughes structured in like a
138
:brilliant, very sticky advertising copy.
139
:So it's, it's designed to
live in your head forever.
140
:For example, "Life moves pretty
fast," from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
141
:And again, this I think is another example
that I didn't realize, but perhaps he
142
:also planted a seed in my young brain
since this is what I do for a living now.
143
:I will say that, uh, this was,
this is a kind of a running
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:trope in '80s movies seemingly.
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:There's a lot of advertising and
marketing in movies from the '80s,
146
:and it is shown to be far more
glamorous than it actually is.
147
:So yeah wish I'd known that.
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:No, I'm just kidding.
149
:I…
150
:It is what it is.
151
:Uh, but music is also
huge in Hughes movies.
152
:A little bit pulling from his ad
background in the way that he used music,
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:so his- he's got a jingle mindset, it
seems, so using music in similar ways that
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:you would in a jingle or in, in ads to
evoke emotion and get your point across.
155
:So some scenes in these movies seems
like they're treated like high-end
156
:commercials a little bit, pairing
these really stylized imagery with
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:infectious, unforgettable audio, quote
unquote, "jingles," shall we say.
158
:Um, a- again, a lot of these
memorable lines, the use of music,
159
:the use of a single musical cue,
like "Simple Minds" in The Breakfast
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:Club or "Yellow" in Ferris Bueller.
161
:It was used to instantly broadcast
a character's internal unspoken
162
:feelings to us as the audience.
163
:The soundtracks in Hughes movies
were definitely not something that
164
:he thought of in post-production.
165
:He, uh, apparently famously wrote scripts
with headphones on, but this totally
166
:makes sense because he lets music clearly
dictate the, the emotional rhythm and
167
:pacing and structure of his, a lot
of his scenes, like I just mentioned
168
:for examples, the "Simple Minds" in
The Breakfast Club or a lot in Ferris
169
:Bueller, just to name a few examples.
170
:And I would say this is, again,
more so early on in his career.
171
:He rejected traditional sweeping Hollywood
orchestra, orchestral scores in favor of
172
:more underground British New Wave or punk
rock alternative pop so he's creating
173
:a very distinct brand that captured
the very specific anxious heartbeat
174
:of 1980s youth culture, and that was,
synonymous with Hughes movies, like I
175
:said, more so earlier in his career.
176
:So music was really big.
177
:He was a big rock fan, and
we'll get to that in a little
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:bit with another category.
179
:But It's not all roses.
180
:There's a common theme of the negative
portrayal of quote unquote "career women."
181
:Hughes very clearly championed a, a
highly traditional neoconservative
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:family structure, portraying
women who opt out of marriage or
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:motherhood as cold, emotionally
bankrupt corporate sharks who must be
184
:humbled and saved by a family unit.
185
:You've heard me talk about this.
186
:I will let it go now.
187
:But also there's a maybe not so great
is maybe a bit of racism by omission.
188
:It wasn't just that there were no people
of color in his movies, it was that
189
:the rare times that they were included
190
:Instead of giving them depth or like
human characteristics, he traded
191
:them for more structural stereotypes
like Long Duk Dong, in Sixteen
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:Candles, Or it's like a caricature.
193
:For example, the caricature
bars of Weird Science.
194
:Also, he did name the male characters in
She's Having a Baby, Jefferson and Davis.
195
:Uh, we'll get into some more name
stuff in a little bit, but I just had
196
:to bring that up because, you know,
we have to take the good with the bad.
197
:We have to take the bad
with the good, I should say.
198
:But another theme that we see throughout
the vast majority of his movies, almost
199
:all of them incorporate classism, right?
200
:So he seems obsessed with this
whole idea of being from the
201
:wrong side of the tracks, and this
form of wealth gap in the '80s.
202
:In the '90s, he pivots to a more
literal version in terms of displacement
203
:and poverty, this disparity, more
so in the '90s movies like The
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:Pigeon Lady in Home Alone 2, Curly
Sue, Dutch, we see some of that.
205
:So I don't think I need to say any more.
206
:Everybody's aware of the classism
that is so prevalent in Hughes movies.
207
:But let's get back to
names 'cause that's fun.
208
:I don't know why I find character
names in movies or just the way that
209
:names come about really interesting.
210
:Maybe it's just me, but i- a lot
of them were extremely deliberate
211
:character names in, in Hughes movies.
212
:A lot of times he would pull from
his own life, local Chicago history,
213
:or using them kind of, as shorthand
for the character's personality.
214
:One theme is, Chicago
architecture and street names.
215
:So I think we might have talked
about this in The Breakfast Club
216
:episode, but I can't quite recall.
217
:But Claire Standish and John Bender
are two characters in The Breakfast
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:Club, and he named these after
major iconic streets in the city.
219
:So On LaSalle Street, there is
the historic Standish Hotel area,
220
:and then there's Bender Court,.
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:And so this is anchoring those
characters directly to Chicago's
222
:geography because Chicago.
223
:Also, the McCallister family in "Home
Alone" comes from McCallister Avenue,
224
:which is a prominent street in the
North Shore Chicago suburbs near
225
:where Hughes lived and also filmed.
226
:We talked about this pretty recently in
the "Some Kind of Wonderful episode."
227
:There was-- He brought, again, a lot
of his, his love of rock and roll
228
:here, so some inspiration for the
names came from the Rolling Stones,
229
:so Keith, Watts, and Amanda Jones.
230
:This is the central love triangle,
the characters in this love triangle.
231
:So it's a big Easter egg
for rock fans, in the know.
232
:So he clearly named Keith after
Keith Richards, and Watts, who the
233
:character plays drums, after Charlie
Watts, the drummer of Rolling Stones.
234
:And also Amanda Jones is pulled
directly from the Rolling
235
:Stones song, "Amanda Jones."
236
:And I did not know that song was
a Rolling Stones song previously,
237
:which was a surprise to me
because I like the Rolling Stones.
238
:But I thought that the song
was written for the movie.
239
:No, no, vice versa.
240
:So I thought that was super fun.
241
:And then, as you would imagine, he's
pulling from real-life people that
242
:he knows, classmates, et cetera.
243
:So Duckie in "Pretty in Pink" was based on
a real person that he went to high school
244
:with at Glenbrook North High School,
where he went by the nickname Duckie.
245
:Also, a lot of the names like
Johnson and Baker, these kinda
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:default names that aren't…
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:They're just pretty generic.
248
:He frequently would pull from
his high school yearbooks.
249
:So Brian Johnson in "The Breakfast
Club," Samantha Baker, "Sixteen Candles."
250
:This also helped to give those
characters a very authentic,
251
:unglamorous Midwestern realism.
252
:And then we have to discuss his pseudonym.
253
:I think it only came up in the
"Beethoven" episode, but he uses
254
:it in, in some future movies, that
we don't cover on this season.
255
:But his pseudonym comes
from classic literature.
256
:So when he wanted to distance
himself from some commercial work
257
:that he was maybe less proud of, he
used the pseudonym Edmond Dantes.
258
:And this is the main character
from "The Count of Monte Cristo."
259
:So he used that to write scripts
like, like I said, from "Beethoven"
260
:and then later, uh, like "Drobit
Taylor" and "Made in Manhattan."
261
:So those are Edmond Dantes' works.
262
:And this is a bit also just to signal…
263
:I mean, he, again,
everything is purposeful.
264
:This is signaling that
he felt like a prisoner
265
:of
266
:his own Hollywood success maybe.
267
:Maybe?
268
:Maybe not.
269
:I don't know.
270
:Uh, and then there's also a very, common
running theme in more so his later
271
:movies, incompetent petty criminals.
272
:Comes up a lot.
273
:So this serves a few purposes, right?
274
:Slapstick punching bag.
275
:The fact that they're incompetent and
they're petty criminals, offers this low
276
:stakes threat, so we're not in fear that
somebody's gonna actually be harmed.
277
:It's a bit of a scapegoat, I guess.
278
:He, he usually writes them as uneducated
blue-collar outcasts, which is in
279
:stark contrast to the wealthy suburban
families that they try to disrupt.
280
:So I think there's something
to be said there as well.
281
:Now, we cannot forget some of
the recurring characters that
282
:we see casting favorites in this
universe that Hughes has built.
283
:So his original muses, of course, are
Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall.
284
:And then we also see a lot of John Candy,
and, uh, we can always take more of John
285
:Candy Macaulay Culkin, Edie McClurg, Ally
Sheedy, Larry Hankin, John Ashton, Paul
286
:Gleason, Lyman Ward, Robert Prosky, Neil
Flynn, Fred Thompson, Eddie Bracken, Joan
287
:Plowright, William Windom, and Ben Stein.
288
:I'm sure there's more, so if I'm
forgetting someone, please let me know.
289
:But those are the ones that I could
think of, just running through
290
:the movies and some commonalities.
291
:So clearly some favorites
that he liked to work with.
292
:Unfortunately, there's not
really any awards to talk about.
293
:No, no major award nominations unless
you count the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards.
294
:Uh, he was nominated in both
'93 and '97 for Dennis the
295
:Menace and Flubber respectively.
296
:But I did think perhaps we could talk
about A movie that we didn't talk about
297
:on the season because it didn't qualify.
298
:John Hughes did not write or direct
this movie, but he did produce it,
299
:and it has tons of, Hughes alumni.
300
:The movie that I'm referring
to here, it's adjacent in the
301
:universe, and we'll talk about why.
302
:So it's called Only the Lonely from 1991.
303
:It also must be out of print
because it was hard to watch.
304
:So I, I don't think it's currently
on streaming, but maybe some of you
305
:remember seeing it from back in the
day or perhaps have an old copy of a
306
:VHS or, or DVD or something like that.
307
:But I watched it recently for
the first time it stars John
308
:Candy Who plays a Chicago cop,
including the accent, Ally Sheedy.
309
:Uh, and she plays the daughter
of a mortician, and she,
310
:at, at the mortician…
311
:The funeral home.
312
:I was like, "What is it called?"
313
:The mortician shop.
314
:The funeral home, she does the makeup
of the people in their caskets.
315
:Now, Jim Belushi plays Candy's
partner, and remember he was in Curly
316
:Sue, also from 1991, the same year.
317
:And some other people from the same world
are screen legends Maureen O'Hara, and
318
:she's doing an Irish accent in this.
319
:And the reason that she's somewhat
related to the universe is that she
320
:played Dory in the original Miracle
on 34th Street, and we talked about
321
:her a little bit in, in the remake.
322
:And then also screen legend Anthony Quinn
is in this, and he's doing a Greek accent.
323
:So we've got a lot of accents
happening in this movie.
324
:We also get, briefly, but we
get Macaulay and Kieran Culkin,
325
:they play Candy's nephews.
326
:And then this, you might be
wondering, who wrote this?
327
:Who directed this?
328
:It is in fact somebody
very close to the universe.
329
:Anyone have any guesses?
330
:Or maybe you know.
331
:It's Chris Columbus.
332
:He wrote and directed this,
so it's very adjacent.
333
:So it, it almost qualifies to be
in the season, but it doesn't.
334
:I can't believe I hadn't seen it.
335
:It's good.
336
:It's not great, it's good.
337
:Now what did we not get?
338
:Because he was such a prolific writer,
kind of notoriously so, but we could have
339
:had some of these and we did not get.
340
:Projects that he wrote but
never came to fruition.
341
:There are several, and I'm not
gonna talk about all of them.
342
:We don't have time for that.
343
:But there are a few that came up in
discussions throughout the season also.
344
:But here are some that I personally
thought sounded interesting, and
345
:I kinda wish we would've got.
346
:Or would've been interesting
to see how it came together.
347
:A live-action Peanuts film.
348
:So apparently Warner Brothers acquired
the film rights to make this, a
349
:live-action Charlie Brown film with
Hughes set to both produce and write,
350
:and that was supposed to be in 1993.
351
:Then we have Tickets.
352
:This is about teens who wait overnight
for free tickets to a farewell concert.
353
:I can see him doing a lot with this.
354
:That would've been '96.
355
:And then The Grigsbys Go Broke is about
a family, a wealthy family, who loses
356
:their fortune, forcing them to move
to the other side of the tracks again.
357
:And because this is like s- so
John Hughes, I just thought it
358
:would've been interesting to see
what he does with that as well.
359
:That would've been two- 2003.
360
:But I saved the best for last.
361
:It would've been in '91.
362
:It's called Bartholomew v.
363
:Neff That's my dog yawning, sorry.
364
:This would have been a vehicle that
would have starred Sylvester Stallone
365
:and John Candy as feuding neighbors.
366
:I am pissed that we didn't get this movie.
367
:I want it.
368
:I can't quite picture those
two together, uh, but love John
369
:Candy, love Sylvester Stallone.
370
:Put them together, feuding neighbors.
371
:What is not to love?
372
:Anyone else even heard
of this Bartholomew vs.
373
:Neff?
374
:I can't believe we didn't get it.
375
:I don't know.
376
:If somebody can get their hands on
it and make it come to light let's
377
:resurrect this screenplay here.
378
:Unfortunately, John Hughes cannot do
that because sadly, he did pass away f-
379
:at a very young age from a heart attack.
380
:He passed on August 6th, 2009.
381
:He was only 59.
382
:Ugh.
383
:Last season, we had to talk about
Patrick dying so young as well.
384
:These people don't even make it to 60.
385
:Legends, I tell you.
386
:All right, we can't let this finale go
by without talking about what I learned.
387
:What did we learn through this journey?
388
:A lot, I will tell you.
389
:I certainly was not an
expert when I started this.
390
:I didn't even really have a particularly
close attachment to John Hughes.
391
:I just knew and loved several of his
teen movies that seemed synonymous
392
:with, the Brat Pack era and the 1980s.
393
:So I loved the idea of this
shared universe in fictional
394
:Chicago suburb called Shermer.
395
:I even used it in the
subtitle of the season.
396
:I knew that he had some other
family-oriented movies that kind of
397
:went into the '90s that I also liked,
like Home Alone, so I thought, "Perfect.
398
:This is a perfect fit for the show.
399
:It'll be a fun little venture."
400
:Well, it turns out I was unwittingly
undertaking a much larger and more
401
:surprising odyssey through his work.
402
:Look, I still don't claim to be any
kind of authority on John Hughes, even
403
:after covering 30 of his films, doing
a whole season that lasted a long time.
404
:I've been doing this for a long time now.
405
:But I will tell you in doing that, I
definitely picked up on some motifs
406
:through doing the season, so let's
talk through what some of those are
407
:There are some unexpected
but very clear evolutions.
408
:The '80s characters in John Hughes' films
seem to be trapped by social structures.
409
:While the '90s movies that he made
became much more literal by trapping
410
:characters, like literally trapping
characters inside houses and toy
411
:stores or city streets, et cetera.
412
:So that is a clear evolution.
413
:We also have, uh, the
misunderstood adult villain.
414
:Now this I find really, I
don't know, interesting because
415
:now I'm an adult, right?
416
:So we, we, we look back on these movies
with a little bit of a different lens.
417
:So we have Principal Rooney in
Ferris Bueller, Vice Principal
418
:Vernon in The Breakfast Club.
419
:They seem like pure
villains to kids, right?
420
:Re-watching as an adult reveals something
very different, that these men seem
421
:to be really tragic characters that
are burnt out on life, and it's just
422
:kind of a terrifying reminder to the
teens of what happens when you let the
423
:world crush your spirit, as happens.
424
:A- as w- we'll talk about this
in a little bit, but this, this
425
:seems to be hard to not have happen
as you, as you get older, right?
426
:We're always, like, looking
back on teenagers or young
427
:adults like, "Aw, how cute."
428
:You know?
429
:They haven't been crushed
by the world yet, right?
430
:Or life.
431
:Adulting is hard, you know?
432
:It really is.
433
:So we find these characters that as
kids we thought were the villains,
434
:quote unquote, and now that we
find them much more relatable.
435
:So I don't know what that says about us.
436
:But I think it's sadly
at least somewhat true.
437
:You know, it's too bad we
gotta get old, stallion, right?
438
:And this is eloquently and simply
stated by Allison in The Breakfast Club.
439
:She says, "It's unavoidable.
440
:It just happens.
441
:When you grow up, your heart dies,"
reflecting the group's fear of
442
:becoming like their parents and
losing their unique identities.
443
:Oy.
444
:We'll get-- we'll talk a
little bit about that in, in a
445
:second also wow, that's heavy.
446
:But again, like, isn't…
447
:I think, I don't know, man.
448
:Yeah, a little bit.
449
:Again, but that's his
earlier works, the '80s.
450
:A lot of this nuance is gone,
completely evaporated, into the '90s,
451
:trading this very complex, flawed
authority figure like Rooney and
452
:Vernon for cartoonish, indestructible
punching bags like the Wet Bandits
453
:So this leads to the next
point that became so evident
454
:as I was going through this.
455
:Again, this evolution from character
study to blueprint maker, and
456
:it's, like I said, it hit me in
the face 'cause it's so obvious and
457
:prevalent as we go through his works.
458
:When he directed his own scripts in
the '80s, he focused very heavily on
459
:dialogue, long pauses, facial expressions,
and those character-driven soundtracks.
460
:But when he stopped directing and focused
solely on writing and producing in the
461
:'90s, his scripts became blueprints
for directors to execute high-concept
462
:action, losing the quiet human
moments that defined his early work.
463
:And this is the tragic irony, right?
464
:It seems that the very skills he learned
as a:
465
:package nostalgia, hook an audience,
and repeat a winning formula, are
466
:exactly what swallowed his artistry
in the '90s, transforming him from
467
:a director who used commercials to
sell cinema into a corporate writer
468
:who used cinema to sell a product
469
:John Hughes seemed to have transitioned
from a soulful director capturing
470
:the authentic heartbeat of youth into
a formulaic hit factory recycling
471
:his own tropes for a paycheck.
472
:And isn't that the ultimate irony given
Allison's quote that we just talked
473
:about in The Breakfast Club about it
being inevitable that your heart dies?
474
:What do we think about this?
475
:When I first kicked off this season
of "Fresh Homage," I set out in
476
:search of pure, comfortable nostalgia.
477
:What I actually uncovered across
John Hughes' massive '80s and '90s
478
:filmography was something far more
complicated: the portrait of a
479
:brilliant, deeply flawed filmmaker.
480
:Hughes didn't just write movies.
481
:He built an enduring cinematic universe
out of high-gloss advertising slogans,
482
:infectious British New Wave beats,
and of course, a romanticized vision
483
:of Chicago that permanently changed
how an entire generation viewed the
484
:American Midwest, myself included.
485
:He gave a profound, serious voice to
the quiet emotional architecture of
486
:teen angst, proving that the small-scale
heartbreaks of high school were,
487
:in fact, worthy of the big screen.
488
:Yet, as I traced his career into the
:
489
:where his passion seemingly dissolved
into that goddamn formulaic factory that
490
:I talk about all the time in the shows.
491
:So he's trading raw human character
studies for indestructible,
492
:cartoonish slapstick.
493
:Looking at his legacy with
modern eyes also forced me to
494
:confront some glaring blind spots.
495
:From a blindingly white suburban universe
that practiced a quiet racism by omission
496
:to a rigid conservative worldview that
routinely penalized independent women, but
497
:even with those deep structural flaws, the
magic of his peak work refuses to fade.
498
:Hughes understood the baseline human
desire to be seen and understood, and that
499
:is exactly why these films still hold a
mirror to our lives now, decades later.
500
:I do wanna give a massive heartfelt thanks
to every single one of you for joining me
501
:on this wild, nostalgic ride through the
highs and some lows of Shermer, Illinois.
502
:Exploring these classics together has
completely transformed the way that
503
:I view cinema, how I watch movies,
how I view them, the lens a much
504
:more critical eye, both good and bad.
505
:And on a personal note, it permanently
cemented my own real-world love
506
:affair with the city of Chicago.
507
:While I am turning the page on this
chapter, "Retromade" is going to take a
508
:little intermission, allowing me to step
back before deciding where our little
509
:pop culture time machine might head next.
510
:Please make sure to stay subscribed though
so that you will get notifications if
511
:and when the new episodes drop, please.
512
:Now, if you love dissecting these
films with me and wanna help
513
:keep the tape rolling, please
consider supporting the show.
514
:You can make a massive difference right
now by hitting that follow button if you
515
:haven't already, if you're new to the
show somehow listening to this episode.
516
:Also, leave me a five-star review
on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
517
:You can share your favorite
episode with a movie-loving friend.
518
:And if you wanna show a little extra
love and appreciation for the season, a
519
:small monetary tip does go a long way.
520
:You can do that through the last
link in the show notes or directly
521
:at retromade.captivate.fm/support.
522
:Oh, and take a page out of the
Hughes playbook and remember,
523
:life moves pretty fast.
524
:If you don't stop and look around
once in a while, you could miss it.
525
:Thank you all for listening, and
until next time, be kind, rewind.