Friday, August 07, 2009

RIP John Hughes

I was saddened to hear of the passing of director John Hughes, yesterday. As a child of the 80s, I grew up with his films. National Lampoon's Vacation (which he wrote but did not direct), as well as The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful, Uncle Buck, Planes Trains & Automobiles, and the first two Home Alone movies are arguably seminal movies of the eighties. His teen comedies which propelled many Brat Packers to stardom spoke to teens, not over their heads and not dumbed down to insult their intelligence. And all of his movies, captured middle-America quite well-- some of the dialogue from those movies still gets quoted or referenced today-- a testament to the impression they left on those who were fortunate enough to view them.

In 1994 Hughes retired from the public eye and relocated to Wisconsin-- keeping a low profile for much of the rest of his life. He'd made his mark and his mark will remain indelibly stamped on the hearts and minds of those whose lives were touched by his films.

Thank you for the memories, Mr. Hughes-- you will be missed.

No comments: