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What John Hughes Taught Me About Love…

By Jess Barnes

When it comes to romance, I’m not ashamed to tell you most of what I’ve learned is from the movies (which probably explains a few things about by my love life.)   But with St. Valentines only hours away, love is in the air, and I canít help but think back to the movies that taught me about the meaning of love and romance. And because I grew up in the 80’s that list has one thing in common: lots and lots of John Hughes movies.

So in honour of the season, I’ve decided to share some of the lessons that Mr. Hughes taught me about the affairs of the heart.

For better and for worse…


1. Tough Girls are Sexy – Some Kind of Wonderful

Movie urban legend has it that Hughes followed up Pretty in Pink with Wonderful as a way to finally get the ending he wanted for Pink in the first place: the protagonist realizing that the dream boy/girl sometimes isn’t the right boy/girl. And even though the story of a tomboy made into an ideal model of romantic affection wasn’t new, what does make Watts (played by Mary Stuart Masterson) a little more unique is that she doesn’t really change all that much on the outside. Watts wins in the end, and it’s not because she put on a little lip gloss. It’s because she’s clearly the cooler chick. Not to mention it was was nice to be told that just because you wear combat boots doesn’t mean you can’t wear diamonds.

2. Marriage is Hard – She’s Having a Baby

The 1988 film was written and directed by Hughes and was the story of Kristy (Elizabeth McGovern) and Jake Briggs (Kevin Bacon), a young newlywed couple, struggling with the transition from free-wheeling single life to suburban domesticity. And though it sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of Hughes catalogue, it’s one of his best (and one of the last films he would direct.). So while most old fashioned romance would have us believe that alls well that ends well at the aisle. This film taught me that that that the real work doesn’t begin until you say I do.

3. Bad Boys Are Sexy (but only in small doses) – The Breakfast Club

This point might seem like a no-brainer, but it bears repeating that girls have been taught to love a bad boy since time began. But, in The Breakfast Club Judd Nelson’s John Bender is the perfect bad boy because he isn’t redeemed by the love a good woman. The romance between “Princess” Claire (Molly Ringwald) and Bender isnít about finding a happily ever after together. Claire falls for Bender’s charms, but itís clear that the relationship has a very short shelf-life, and that’s exactly how it should be — Even I knew that Bender would be a trainwreck of a boyfriend, and I was 10.

4. Romance is in the “Little” Things – Sixteen Candles

As a young girl weaned on romantic stories I’ve seen my share of grand gestures, but the simple image of Sam (Molly Ringwald) and her dream boy Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) perched on the dining room table with a birthday cake between them still remains as one of my top 5 “heart-melting moments”. Candles is one of Hughes’ greatest films for so many reasons, but Sam’s happy ending was what showed me that romance doesn’t have to be elaborate or full of poetic declarations, sometimes it’s just a birthday cake.

5. There is No Such Thing as The Perfect Woman – Weird Science

Granted, Weird Science wasn’t looking to make grand social commentary when it was first released back in 1985, but it did mess with my ideas about “The Perfect Woman” — and I mean that as a compliment. The sci-fi comedy about two social outcasts who build their dream woman using a Barbie doll and their home computer is one of Hughes’ goofier endeavors, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t contain a very important lesson for my 10 year old brain: Don’t waste your time trying to be perfect, because even a dream woman can be a total nightmare.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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