I’m going with a continuation of yesterday’s Bloggery, because the death of John Hughes has hit my generation very hard, and on the day after we’re getting more lists and more memories, including one particularly popular eulogy from the filmmaker’s pen pal, which is shedding some light onto Hughes’ reasons for leaving Hollywood.
One thing that I’m finding interesting about the reactions to Hughes’ death is that he’s yet another example of how, as David Poland wrote back in June, “death is the ultimate disinfectant.” Not that many people stopped loving his ’80s teen movies after the man stopped directing, but the world didn’t quite respect him as much after he focused on writing and producing such family fare as Baby’s Day Out, the Beethoven movies and some unnecessary remakes for Disney.
Hughes’ death may not be the huge media story that Michael Jackson’s was, but given his contribution toward the definition of the ’80s, his decline in the ’90s and his association with Macauley Culkin, it’s not a huge stretch for all those “first MJ, now…” comments going around. When you think of ’80s music, you likely think of MJ. Likewise, when you think of ’80s movies, you think of JH. At least we still have the most important ’80s TV icon. But we might want to say our prayers for Bill Cosby…
Check out the further tributes and such from the film blogosphere after the jump:
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If you want proof that John Hughes has still not been succeeded as teen movie king, take a look at the 2001 spoof Not Another Teen Movie, which references Hughes’ films more than any other, despite the fact that it’d been 14 years since the filmmaker had last given us one of his signature entries into the genre. Also see the marketing of last year’s American Teen, a documentary that was sold as a non-fiction version of The Breakfast Club, 23 years later.
There will likely never be another John Hughes, at least not in the way he defined a type of movie. And at the same time, as much as nearly every teen movie since his seminal six recognize his influence, few of today’s teen movies can even get away with or accomplish things his films did. It would be appropriate if we could name sixteen of these things present in Hughes’ early works that are absent from modern teen movies, but we’ve got half that number, and we’re hoping it’s enough to establish that his films were, for better or worse, of a certain time, despite the fact that they’re so timeless.
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John Hughes was probably my first favorite filmmaker, or at least the first I really knew by name and reputation. So I’m especially saddened by his death from heart attack today, at age 59. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off may no longer be my favorite movie of all time — actually attending high school somewhat ruined the teen mythology that exists in Hughes’ films for me — but it forever remains in my top ten list of titles I enjoy watching over and over again (even if I am critical of the musical number).
Because many of us film bloggers grew up religiously watching his movies, including those he scripted but did not direct, there’s a lot of shared memories and tributes popping up around the web this evening. Check out what people are saying about the legacy of the iconic filmmaker after the jump:
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It’s been a long time since I watched a movie aired on commercial television. As a kid, however, I watched enough TV edits of films to have seen both Fast TImes at Ridgemont High and Sixteen Candles about a thousand times each before I knew that either film, in its original cut, features nudity. As far as language goes, though, any kid could figure out what curse words were really being mouthed by the actors instead of overdubbed words like “stuff,” “funsters” and “mothercrusher.”
But a young person watching Weird Science may have been seriously confused, because much of the censored dialogue wasn’t even inappropriate for television. So, when words like “nipples,” “fart” and “bang” are replaced with “pimples,” “puke” and “hit,” we kids of the ’80s just simply had to abandon TV edits forever. Therefore, I’ve never had the pleasure of hearing a coarse phrase from The Big Lebowski turned into the bizarre line “This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!”
According to a list of “10 Worst Movie Edits For TV” at AskMen.com, the #1 offender is Die Hard’s infamous “Yippee-ki-yay, Mr. Falcon.” But I have to go with their #10, Weird Science, for the top spot, because it ruined me for future movie edits, and now I’m aware that some of them are actually quite enjoyable in a ridiculous sort of way. Check out a montage of Weird Science overdubs after the jump.
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“When a “gong” sound announces your arrival on the scene, the odds are fairly high that you’re not a great asian character.” Thoughts on Long Duck Dong, Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi, and the rest of the 9 Worst Asian Characters of All Time, at Suicide Girls.
ThinkFilm has announced 
