John Hughes, the man responsible for some of the most beloved teen movies of the 80's, died yesterday of a heart attack in New York City while visiting family. He was 59.
John Hughes made movies during a different time in filmmaking. Looking back on his body of work is not simply nostalgia, though. His movies were of a different quality to films nowadays. It was an era when you still had teenagers playing teenagers and actors could look average without being airbrushed or made to wear the latest Abercrombie and Fitch designer clothes.
A glance at Hughes' body of work reveals a remarkably vibrant resume containing such classics (and I use that word without any sense of hyperbole) as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Uncle Buck and a whole bunch of Chevy Chase Vacation movies. Although Hughes hadn't been an active filmmaker in recent years, his influence on today's filmmakers is (and will continue to be) apparent. He was a primary influence on the likes of Wes Anderson, Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow, with Apatow saying earlier last year, "Basically, my stuff is just John Hughes films with four-letter words".
John Hughes' first directorial effort was 1984's Sixteen Candles. He followed that with the most iconic high school film of the decade, The Breakfast Club about a group of teens who must learn how to get along when they're thrown into Saturday morning detention together. Then along came the likes of Pretty In Pink and Weird Science. Planes, Trains & Automobiles followed in 1987 starring John Candy and Steve Martin and this film represented a departure from the teen fare that had made him famous. Uncle Buck and Curly Sue followed, but Hughes also found considerable success in the screenwriting business. He penned 1990's hugely successful Home Alone as well as Flubber and 101 Dalmations.
"He understood young people in a way few filmmakers ever have. He tapped into the feelings of teenagers and literally changed the face of the 80's. The film industry has lost a giant -- a gentle, wonderful giant," said Devin Ratray who played Buzz in Home Alone.
Judd Apatow said "I feel like a part of my childhood has died. Nobody made me laugh harder or more often than John Hughes" and Kat Dennings, star of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and The Forty Year Old Virgin said on her Twitter page, "One of the masters of our generation is gone. There will never be another one like him".
John Hughes is survived by his wife Nancy and two sons, John and James.
Life moves pretty fast sometimes. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. - Ferris Bueller.
- John Balfe
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