Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

 Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

1987’s Some Kind of Wonderful is pure, golden John Hughes. It is yet another story focused in a high-school setting that delivers a message about the pains of growing up. If the plot sounds recycled (and it basically is), Hughes once again elevates a standard coming-of-age story thanks to his empathetic screenplay that developed realistic, three-dimensional characters. This film is not exactly about if the hero of the story gets the woman of his dreams, but rather it asks the question, should he get the girl of his dreams. And once again, I am amazed how accurate Hughes is able to grasp high-school life especially in areas concerning relationships.

If the plot of this movie sounds familiar, I bet you are thinking about 1986’s Pretty in Pink which was another working collaboration between producer/writer Hughes and director Howard Deutch. While I thought that particular movie was your fun, typical Hughes drama, the film made headlines because of its ending. The best friend falls in love with the female lead, but she ignores him in the end, and that created plenty of backlash. It even caused a falling out between Deutch and Hughes. In response, Hughes wrote a very similar story but swapped genders. This time, he wanted to be sure the audience gets what they want. In retrospect, he made an intelligent move because this film’s ending is more satisfying, sweet, and even somewhat emotional.

The story itself is standard and nothing surprises you. Keith (Eric Stoltz) is a high-school student who works as a mechanic and has a thing for the arts. He is an outsider at school. His best friend is a tomboy named Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson), likewise an outsider and a pretty darn good drums player. Keith has his eyes on the most beautiful girl in his school, Amanda Jones (Lea Thompson). After she breaks up with her rich boyfriend, Keith decides to make his move. Surprisingly, she accepts his advances. Now to make sure everything works, Keith asks Watts to help him understand the female brain. As the story progresses, Watts begins to search herself and her true feelings begin to surface.

If you are familiar with films from John Hughes, you may be wondering where on earth is Molly Ringwald? She turned down the role of Watts to focus on more adult roles which ended her working relationship with Hughes as he took it very personally. That said, Mary Stuart Masterson was a very strong substitute and may have been the film’s best performance. Her character is strong and relatable. A very well-written, capable female performance. Eric Stoltz is able to match up with her performance as the two exhibited some excellent chemistry. I liked John Ashton as Keith’s father. Usually, Hughes makes his adult characters dumb, but he surprisingly makes Ashton’s character sympathetic. He wants his kid to go to college, but Keith wants to lead his own life and do something with the arts. Hmmmm sounds quite personal to me.

Overall, Some Kind of Wonderful is your typical John Hughes movie; a basic story that works because of its three-dimensional, well-developed characters. Even Lea Thompson’s Amanda Jones is not your prototypical dumb beauty. I am amused by Hughes’s inside joke about The Rolling Stones (Keith, Watts, Amanda Jones…I hope you know what I mean). Also, a shoutout to Keith’s sister played by Maddie Corman. She is riotously hilarious. And no, that skinhead is not Robert De Niro. That is Elias Koteas. Anyway, this is an underrated film that should be seen. Great characters, great soundtrack, great emotional ending (loved the chauffeur bit with Watts), and average story

My Grade: B+