Pretty in Pink is considered one of the classic John Hughes films along with Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. It was released in 1986, one year after I was born. Despite being nearly 30 years old, the film continues to offer important game insights.
The film has a number of subplots, generally revolving around the father and female role model of the protagonist, Andie . A full plot summary is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_in_Pink. This discussion will focus on the four main characters: Andie Walsh, Blane McDonough, Steff, and Phil "Duckie" Dale. It is their actions and conduct that is most revealing from a game perspective.
Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald): Andie is a high school senior raised by her underemployed father after her mother ran away. Being from the poor part of town, she's embraced "new wave" culture, which is aesthetically very similar to modern hipsterism, but with fewer tattoos. She is academically gifted and ultimately receives a college scholarship (likely the first one in her family to even have the option of attending college), but socially stunted. This awkwardness stems in large part due to her acute awareness of her economic disadvantage and atypical broken home - remember, this is in the mid-80's.
Andie has a crush on Blane, who is from the rich part of town, and is quickly infatuated with him. When Blane comes to her record store for the first time, her 'shield' manifests in the form of her hyping up a terrible album to him. (Blane, however, clearly knew the album sucked and asked her if it was any good as a way to break the ice.) It is clear, though, that she likes Blane and gets nervous during their subsequent meetings. In later scenes, she groans as she listens to the multiple voicemails of her orbiter, Duckie, and literally waits by the phone dejectedly waiting for Blane to call. When Blane gets avoidant, she obsesses over him - waiting for him in the parking lot and after class. She even goes to prom alone and immediately forgives Blane for standing her up for the event.
Also in Andie's life is her orbiter Duckie. Andie tolerates his presence but pays him little mind. To Andie, Duckie is something of a pet. When she goes into the nightclub, Duckie is not allowed in - but he hangs out with the bouncer until she leaves. At one point when the two are studying, Andie literally pets Duckie on the head. When Blane takes an interest in Andie, Duckie is quickly forgotten, much to his chagrin. But, with a legitimate romantic interest in Andie's life, there is very little need for Duckie and the attention he provided.
Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy): Blane is something of a greater beta / lesser alpha. He's born into a wealthy family but initially doesn't care about what his peers think about him pursuing someone from the wrong side of the tracks. He makes some bold moves by pursuing a girl who is clearly outside of his social circle, by going to her place of work to attempt a conversation with her - even though she cuts his initial attempt short by cashing him out and sending him along the way with some crooner's album. (While this was likely considered normal in the mid-80's when answering machines were not universal and there were no cell phones or texting, it would very likely be deemed "creepy" today.) Blane goes back to the store, and even ventures into the part of the school dominated by new wavers and punks in order to ask out Andie. However, the boldness of this action is belied by the number of times Blane had to see Andie to work up the nerve to ask her out, and his obvious excitement when she accepts. His weakness is exposed throughout the rest of the film.
Blane takes Andie to a party thrown by his friends for their first date. He spends much of the time attempting to defend her and apologizing for his friends. Then, they go to a club Andie frequents, where Blane is nervous and intimidated by new wave types. He also gets into an argument with Duckie. At the end of the night, when Andie tries to tell Blane not to drive her home - she's embarrassed of where she lives - Blane tries earnestly to reason with her emotions. While he gets the makeout at the end of the night and then immediately, inexplicably asks her to prom, it appears to be despite his conduct.
Blane is confronted by his friends and pressured into cutting off contact with Andie. He stops taking her calls and uninvites her to prom when he's confronted and shoved into a locker by Andie, claiming her forgot he invited someone else. He then sits alone at home until the night of the prom, which he attends alone. At this point, he calls out his friend who most vocally criticized Andie, as Blane realized that his friend's criticism arose from him wanting to get with Andie. (This is one of the surprisingly few plot points that strains credulity.) He then tells Andie how he feels, and she forgives him for ignoring her. The movie ends with them kissing in the prom venue's parking lot.
Phil "Duckie" Dale (John Cryer): Duckie is the apex beta orbiter. Roissy/Heartiste's points on what makes a beta could all be summarized in this character. Fast talking, over-explaining, wildly gesticulating, and ultimately a crippling narcissist, Duckie satisfies himself through his unrequited love for Andie. He interprets the time she spends with him, as they have known each other since they were very young, for affection. The limited touching she engages in with him, such as patting the top of his head, feeds his belief that she has a hidden romantic interest in him.
Part of Duckie's narcissism is his resentment of others. His narrated internal dialogue reveals that he can't comprehend how Andie might like someone else. When Duckie realizes Andie may have an interest in Blaine, Duckie attempts to divert her attention into himself. First, Duckie sets off the alarm in the store where Andie works while Blane is there. Next, Duckie does an elaborate song and dance performance for Andie in the store right before Blane is supposed to pick her up. On Andie's date with Blane, Duckie dramatically kisses Andie's friend and older mentor in an effort to make Andie jealous and ensure that her focus is on him, rather than Blane. Duckie feels betrayed by Andie and the two have a falling out.
After Duckie and Andie's "split," Duckie spends his time alone, obviously miserable. He still hovers on Andie's periphery, though not as closely. In his only arguably alpha act in the movie, he starts a fight in the middle of school with Blane's friend who convinced Blane to stop seeing Andie. However, immediately after the fight, Duckie runs away and tears down a banner for the school's prom, as if to protest what it stands for and how unfair it is for Andie, who has been most damaged by the pressure to attend prom with a date.
At the end of the film, Andie and Duckie reunite at the prom and walk in together. However, Duckie sees that Andie would be happier with Blane and neuters himself by essentially handing Andie over to Blane.
Fun fact: the movie originally was supposed to end with Andie and Duckie being together. However, this was so obviously unbelievable that test audiences hated it and the ending had to be done so that Blane and Andie would end up together. It was obvious to everyone, even test audiences, that Duckie was the beta and true villain of the movie, albeit a reformed one. The idea of him being with Andie was simply unnatural. If there is any knowledge to be gleaned from this movie, it can be obtained by simply avoiding doing anything Duckie would do.
Steff (James Spader): James Spader depicts a consummate player in this movie. As much as Duckie embodies the common traits of a beta, Steff's deportment would be classically defined as an alpha. He spreads himself out to take up space, he looks away from people when talking to them, makes few hand motions, and doesn't raise his voice. Even GManifesto would approve of his drawing out a cigarette as a way to terminate a conversation.
Steff is one of Blane's best friends and another member of the rich kid clique. At the beginning of the movie, Steff approaches Andie and asks her, bluntly, when they're going to get together. When she protests, Steff claims he would want to do more than just sleep with her. This is the only questionable moment with respect to Steff's character. On the surface, the viewer is invited to believe Steff really has a genuine interest in Andie. This is supported at the film's conclusion where Blane accuses Steff of having wanted her all along. But, as anyone who has overcome these kind of protestations (and anyone who has a daughter) knows, men will say close to anything to get laid. The fact that Steff claims he wants more than a fling with Andie ups his player credentials rather than diminishes them, since a relationship with Andie would cut against the rest of his conduct in the film. While Hughes invites the feel-good conclusion that Steff had feelings for Andie, his conduct throughout the film and real life experience should indicate otherwise, and that he was just saying what he had to say to fulfill his needs.
For the rest of the movie, Steff steers Blane away from Andie. He convinces Blane that he would lose standing in his group, and would lose Steff as a friend, if he continued to see Andie. Steff presents this to Blane as looking out for his best interests, while maintaining that he knew better than Blane what was best for him. Steff hosts the party where Blane takes Andie and is embarrassed; Steff holds court and laughingly refuses to intervene when the attractive blond he's with begins harassing Andie and mocking Blane for bringing her to the gathering.
The mannerisms, cadence, disinterest in everything around him, and manipulative streak are faithfully on display here. Even after being attacked by Duckie, Steff chuckles and walks off the skirmish. The only thing that makes Spader's portrayal of Steff even somewhat unbelievable
is that the level of aloofness he displays is hard to imagine for an 18-year-old to possess today. Maybe things were different in the 1980s. Most guys couldn't hope to reach Steff's level of coolness ever, but among those who do, it tends to happen later in life.
General Comments: John Hughes made, overall, a thematically believable movie. There are no in-your-face, overly PC messages in it like there are in most modern films, and while the specific events in the movie might have never happened before, the themes of romantic interest outside of one's social and socioeconomic circles are found in daily life. Two things make the movie unbelievable, though:
1) Blane and Andie both say they love one another at the end. Based on what?! On screen, the two have only two dates and then barely speak until the prom, where they admit their love for one another. Meanwhile, Andie has a scholarship to college and presumably is moving away. So what is this "love" based on? It doesn't pass the smell test.
Simultaneously, being in "love" as a teenager is an arbitrary process without much logic or reason behind it, if any. If that was what Hughes was trying to portray, he did a decent job of it, although it's still a bit thin. Even a short montage of dates set to new wave synth music would have made this more believable and not been incongruent with the film.
2) As previously noted, Hughes seemed to want to lead viewers to the idea that Steff tried to steer Blane away from Andie out of sour grapes that he couldn't have a relationship with her. I don't think the sour grapes angle is entirely inaccurate, but the idea of Steff having a relationship with Andie is inconsistent with his character and flies in the face of what we all know and live. Since happy endings are central to Hughes films, it's understandable why he pushed the agenda of Steff missing out on the relationship Blane was able to have with Andie. If the film was a work of pure realism, though, Steff would only have been missing out on the bragging rights of getting there first.
In fact, even if Steff did want a relationship with Andie, it wouldn't be inconsistent with him being a player. Many people here have been in relationships for weeks, months, or even years before bouncing out and back into the game. Some people in this sphere periodically want relationships as temporary respites from the game. (cough DAGONET cough) Assuming - and it is a big assumption - that Steff did want some kind of relationship with Andie, it would have certainly been qualitatively different and less earnest than the one she had with Blane.
Why i Watched This Movie: I've had at least two people compare me to a "John Hughes film villain" in the last month or so. I figured I should see the movies to see if this was good, bad, or indifferent.
The film has a number of subplots, generally revolving around the father and female role model of the protagonist, Andie . A full plot summary is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_in_Pink. This discussion will focus on the four main characters: Andie Walsh, Blane McDonough, Steff, and Phil "Duckie" Dale. It is their actions and conduct that is most revealing from a game perspective.
Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald): Andie is a high school senior raised by her underemployed father after her mother ran away. Being from the poor part of town, she's embraced "new wave" culture, which is aesthetically very similar to modern hipsterism, but with fewer tattoos. She is academically gifted and ultimately receives a college scholarship (likely the first one in her family to even have the option of attending college), but socially stunted. This awkwardness stems in large part due to her acute awareness of her economic disadvantage and atypical broken home - remember, this is in the mid-80's.
Andie has a crush on Blane, who is from the rich part of town, and is quickly infatuated with him. When Blane comes to her record store for the first time, her 'shield' manifests in the form of her hyping up a terrible album to him. (Blane, however, clearly knew the album sucked and asked her if it was any good as a way to break the ice.) It is clear, though, that she likes Blane and gets nervous during their subsequent meetings. In later scenes, she groans as she listens to the multiple voicemails of her orbiter, Duckie, and literally waits by the phone dejectedly waiting for Blane to call. When Blane gets avoidant, she obsesses over him - waiting for him in the parking lot and after class. She even goes to prom alone and immediately forgives Blane for standing her up for the event.
Also in Andie's life is her orbiter Duckie. Andie tolerates his presence but pays him little mind. To Andie, Duckie is something of a pet. When she goes into the nightclub, Duckie is not allowed in - but he hangs out with the bouncer until she leaves. At one point when the two are studying, Andie literally pets Duckie on the head. When Blane takes an interest in Andie, Duckie is quickly forgotten, much to his chagrin. But, with a legitimate romantic interest in Andie's life, there is very little need for Duckie and the attention he provided.
Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy): Blane is something of a greater beta / lesser alpha. He's born into a wealthy family but initially doesn't care about what his peers think about him pursuing someone from the wrong side of the tracks. He makes some bold moves by pursuing a girl who is clearly outside of his social circle, by going to her place of work to attempt a conversation with her - even though she cuts his initial attempt short by cashing him out and sending him along the way with some crooner's album. (While this was likely considered normal in the mid-80's when answering machines were not universal and there were no cell phones or texting, it would very likely be deemed "creepy" today.) Blane goes back to the store, and even ventures into the part of the school dominated by new wavers and punks in order to ask out Andie. However, the boldness of this action is belied by the number of times Blane had to see Andie to work up the nerve to ask her out, and his obvious excitement when she accepts. His weakness is exposed throughout the rest of the film.
Blane takes Andie to a party thrown by his friends for their first date. He spends much of the time attempting to defend her and apologizing for his friends. Then, they go to a club Andie frequents, where Blane is nervous and intimidated by new wave types. He also gets into an argument with Duckie. At the end of the night, when Andie tries to tell Blane not to drive her home - she's embarrassed of where she lives - Blane tries earnestly to reason with her emotions. While he gets the makeout at the end of the night and then immediately, inexplicably asks her to prom, it appears to be despite his conduct.
Blane is confronted by his friends and pressured into cutting off contact with Andie. He stops taking her calls and uninvites her to prom when he's confronted and shoved into a locker by Andie, claiming her forgot he invited someone else. He then sits alone at home until the night of the prom, which he attends alone. At this point, he calls out his friend who most vocally criticized Andie, as Blane realized that his friend's criticism arose from him wanting to get with Andie. (This is one of the surprisingly few plot points that strains credulity.) He then tells Andie how he feels, and she forgives him for ignoring her. The movie ends with them kissing in the prom venue's parking lot.
Phil "Duckie" Dale (John Cryer): Duckie is the apex beta orbiter. Roissy/Heartiste's points on what makes a beta could all be summarized in this character. Fast talking, over-explaining, wildly gesticulating, and ultimately a crippling narcissist, Duckie satisfies himself through his unrequited love for Andie. He interprets the time she spends with him, as they have known each other since they were very young, for affection. The limited touching she engages in with him, such as patting the top of his head, feeds his belief that she has a hidden romantic interest in him.
Part of Duckie's narcissism is his resentment of others. His narrated internal dialogue reveals that he can't comprehend how Andie might like someone else. When Duckie realizes Andie may have an interest in Blaine, Duckie attempts to divert her attention into himself. First, Duckie sets off the alarm in the store where Andie works while Blane is there. Next, Duckie does an elaborate song and dance performance for Andie in the store right before Blane is supposed to pick her up. On Andie's date with Blane, Duckie dramatically kisses Andie's friend and older mentor in an effort to make Andie jealous and ensure that her focus is on him, rather than Blane. Duckie feels betrayed by Andie and the two have a falling out.
After Duckie and Andie's "split," Duckie spends his time alone, obviously miserable. He still hovers on Andie's periphery, though not as closely. In his only arguably alpha act in the movie, he starts a fight in the middle of school with Blane's friend who convinced Blane to stop seeing Andie. However, immediately after the fight, Duckie runs away and tears down a banner for the school's prom, as if to protest what it stands for and how unfair it is for Andie, who has been most damaged by the pressure to attend prom with a date.
At the end of the film, Andie and Duckie reunite at the prom and walk in together. However, Duckie sees that Andie would be happier with Blane and neuters himself by essentially handing Andie over to Blane.
Fun fact: the movie originally was supposed to end with Andie and Duckie being together. However, this was so obviously unbelievable that test audiences hated it and the ending had to be done so that Blane and Andie would end up together. It was obvious to everyone, even test audiences, that Duckie was the beta and true villain of the movie, albeit a reformed one. The idea of him being with Andie was simply unnatural. If there is any knowledge to be gleaned from this movie, it can be obtained by simply avoiding doing anything Duckie would do.
Steff (James Spader): James Spader depicts a consummate player in this movie. As much as Duckie embodies the common traits of a beta, Steff's deportment would be classically defined as an alpha. He spreads himself out to take up space, he looks away from people when talking to them, makes few hand motions, and doesn't raise his voice. Even GManifesto would approve of his drawing out a cigarette as a way to terminate a conversation.
Steff is one of Blane's best friends and another member of the rich kid clique. At the beginning of the movie, Steff approaches Andie and asks her, bluntly, when they're going to get together. When she protests, Steff claims he would want to do more than just sleep with her. This is the only questionable moment with respect to Steff's character. On the surface, the viewer is invited to believe Steff really has a genuine interest in Andie. This is supported at the film's conclusion where Blane accuses Steff of having wanted her all along. But, as anyone who has overcome these kind of protestations (and anyone who has a daughter) knows, men will say close to anything to get laid. The fact that Steff claims he wants more than a fling with Andie ups his player credentials rather than diminishes them, since a relationship with Andie would cut against the rest of his conduct in the film. While Hughes invites the feel-good conclusion that Steff had feelings for Andie, his conduct throughout the film and real life experience should indicate otherwise, and that he was just saying what he had to say to fulfill his needs.
For the rest of the movie, Steff steers Blane away from Andie. He convinces Blane that he would lose standing in his group, and would lose Steff as a friend, if he continued to see Andie. Steff presents this to Blane as looking out for his best interests, while maintaining that he knew better than Blane what was best for him. Steff hosts the party where Blane takes Andie and is embarrassed; Steff holds court and laughingly refuses to intervene when the attractive blond he's with begins harassing Andie and mocking Blane for bringing her to the gathering.
The mannerisms, cadence, disinterest in everything around him, and manipulative streak are faithfully on display here. Even after being attacked by Duckie, Steff chuckles and walks off the skirmish. The only thing that makes Spader's portrayal of Steff even somewhat unbelievable
is that the level of aloofness he displays is hard to imagine for an 18-year-old to possess today. Maybe things were different in the 1980s. Most guys couldn't hope to reach Steff's level of coolness ever, but among those who do, it tends to happen later in life.
General Comments: John Hughes made, overall, a thematically believable movie. There are no in-your-face, overly PC messages in it like there are in most modern films, and while the specific events in the movie might have never happened before, the themes of romantic interest outside of one's social and socioeconomic circles are found in daily life. Two things make the movie unbelievable, though:
1) Blane and Andie both say they love one another at the end. Based on what?! On screen, the two have only two dates and then barely speak until the prom, where they admit their love for one another. Meanwhile, Andie has a scholarship to college and presumably is moving away. So what is this "love" based on? It doesn't pass the smell test.
Simultaneously, being in "love" as a teenager is an arbitrary process without much logic or reason behind it, if any. If that was what Hughes was trying to portray, he did a decent job of it, although it's still a bit thin. Even a short montage of dates set to new wave synth music would have made this more believable and not been incongruent with the film.
2) As previously noted, Hughes seemed to want to lead viewers to the idea that Steff tried to steer Blane away from Andie out of sour grapes that he couldn't have a relationship with her. I don't think the sour grapes angle is entirely inaccurate, but the idea of Steff having a relationship with Andie is inconsistent with his character and flies in the face of what we all know and live. Since happy endings are central to Hughes films, it's understandable why he pushed the agenda of Steff missing out on the relationship Blane was able to have with Andie. If the film was a work of pure realism, though, Steff would only have been missing out on the bragging rights of getting there first.
In fact, even if Steff did want a relationship with Andie, it wouldn't be inconsistent with him being a player. Many people here have been in relationships for weeks, months, or even years before bouncing out and back into the game. Some people in this sphere periodically want relationships as temporary respites from the game. (cough DAGONET cough) Assuming - and it is a big assumption - that Steff did want some kind of relationship with Andie, it would have certainly been qualitatively different and less earnest than the one she had with Blane.
Why i Watched This Movie: I've had at least two people compare me to a "John Hughes film villain" in the last month or so. I figured I should see the movies to see if this was good, bad, or indifferent.
