At a reunion screening of Pretty in Pink and the 25th Anniversary screening of The Breakfast Club, the original redhead crush and John Hughes staple Molly Ringwald dished on her experiences with Pretty in Pink.
Forces of Geek has the whole thing, but I am just quoting the parts I found most interesting.
Who is Andie really…
I really do think PIP was based on me and my life. I come from a very middle class background, and lived with my parents at the time this movie was made. He had seen my bedroom, and the collages I made. In fact, one of the collages that you see in Andie’s bedroom you can see on the wall is something I made for my real room. The photo of my runaway “mother” in the movie is actually my mom’s high school picture.Not Another Teen Movie
I never spoke to John Hughes about my cameo in “Not Another Teen Movie”, so I don’t know if he saw it. I know I never saw it.How she really felt about the prom dress…
The prom dress was my least favorite. In fact, I kept all of my clothes from PIP except the prom dress because I detested it so much. And now of course it’s the only thing I want. I love it. It’s so of that time and different from what everyone else was wearing. Maybe one day I’ll bid on it at Christie’s or something.The truth about Duckie…
I have a really good friend who was the production assistant on PIP and John used to come up and say to him, ‘you know you’re really Duckie, you’re her Duckie.’ And, you know, he happens to be gay. And whenever I see this movie, all I can think about is that Duckie’s really gay and he just doesn’t know it yet. Jon Cryer is not gay, but Duckie is gay. I think he loves her in a way that a young man absolutely idolizes his female friends. So it’s not that kind of charisma. We shot the ending and every audience across the board disliked it. You can’t have a Cinderella story and not have her end up with the Prince. We just didn’t belong together.The truth about the ending…
In the original script, I ended up with Duckie. In the original casting, Robert Downey Jr. was lined up for Duckie, and he is originally who I wanted. John Hughes wanted Michael J Fox, but he got stuck on “Back to the Future. ” And then Howie went after Jon Cryer, and I think Cryer is outstanding in the movie, and I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part now. But it did really change the dynamic of the relationship, and we really just seem like friends.The truth about Molly’s nostalgia…
I loved these movies. I loved every script I read, especially Breakfast Club, I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of these movies. It also got me out of school, which I loved. I loved working with John. I never knew that they would have the impact that they would have. I never thought over 20 years later I would be sitting here with all of you watching the film. To be honest, I really thought that PIP was gonna bomb bad. I thought people were done with me. This one was actually the biggest hit of the three I did for John.
That is a lot of information to find out about Pretty in Pink. Like a DVD extra in person. That would have been awesome to be in attendance.
John Hughes films are the heart of my teenage years. He got me so well. I was the Duckie… but not gay. And I also had the biggest crush on Molly Ringwald.
And I hated that dress she wore despite loving the movie!
