With the passing of John Hughes on August 6, 2009, the Cinema has lost one of its modern masters. Hughes was the architect behind a canon of memorable films that have famously passed into the social lexicon. Having launched the careers of numerous young stars, Hughes’ contribution to the world of film cannot be underestimated.
The Beginning
A Lansing, Michigan native, Hughes’ early career was in copywriting and advertising. Later, he wrote and sold jokes to various comedians and established himself as a gag writer of some note. He took a job with the National Lampoon after crafting a story about a chaotic vacation that would later yield cinematic gold as National Lampoon’s Vacation in 1983. During the National Lampoon years, Hughes began crafting the ideas that would inform his most famous works in years to come.
The 80’s
As the Me Generation and their newly disposable income took to the movie theatres, John Hughes responded as the creative force behind films that depicted a teenage wasteland unlike any that had been seen before. Problems like acne and lack of access to the family car were still present, but were now joined by frank discussions about sex and popularity, fitting in, and being a misfit. Beaver Cleaver’s America was still present, now tempered with a darker underside that many regarded as a more realistic view of modern teenage problems.
And yet, the able writer and director always managed to find the bright side of life, and kept us laughing along the way. Whether at his most surreal (Weird Science) or at his most serious (Some Kind of Wonderful), the realistic undercurrent, speech patterns, and the ever-present Murphy’s Law, spoke to the masses in new and exciting ways. Hughes’ contributions sparked a flurry of imitation films meant to capitalize on this new, loyal teen mega-market. While many were clever (Real Genius), none could equal the charm of such classics as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Sixteen Candles.
In the late 80’s, Hughes began to branch away from his decidedly teen-oriented roots and created new films that dealt with younger protagonists (Home Alone) and older, more cynical adults (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles). He proved that his films could be just as entertaining without being restricted to one genre alone. While Hughes’ work was definitely derivative of itself, he always managed to bring something fresh to the table with each outing. As the 90’s dawned, Hughes gradually retired from the public eye, leaving his filmography to speak for itself.
John Hughes’ Impact on Popular Culture
The Hughes films created a new archetypal line-up which allowed society a more honest way of looking at itself; the Geek, the Princess, the Jock, the Loner, the Foreign Guy, the Outcast... all of these people were instantly recognizable to the movie-going public of a certain age, and their struggles were very familiar. Even today, many young performances are thought of as being “like a John Hughes character”, falling into that familiar mould. The films of John Hughes are often quoted, parodied, and referenced in numerous modern works, especially on television. Whether a re-creation of the panty-reveal scene from Sixteen Candles on Family Guy, or both Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen goofing on their Hughes-era personas on Two and a Half Men, the Hughes Homage is ongoing and serves to illustrate exactly how much of an influence John Hughes had on our collective consciousness.
John Hughes’ selected Filmography *
- Mr. Mom (Writer)
- National Lampoon's Vacation (Writer)
- Sixteen Candles (Writer & Director)
- The Breakfast Club (Writer & Director)
- Weird Science (Writer & Director)
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Writer & Director)
- Pretty in Pink (Writer)
- Some Kind of Wonderful (Writer)
- Planes, Trains & Automobiles (Writer & Director)
- She's Having a Baby (Writer & Director)
- The Great Outdoors (Writer)
- Uncle Buck (Writer & Director)
- Home Alone (Writer)
- Curly Sue (Writer & Director)
No discussion of the 80’s is complete without mention of John Hughes and his movies that left their mark on popular culture. His creativity, comic talent, and understanding of teenagers has helped create fond memories for an entire generation, and served as inspiration for numerous young filmmakers in the years since. The films of John Hughes were seminal in helping to create the definitive cinematic identity of the 1980’s, and ushered in a new way of looking (and laughing) at movies.
* From the Internet Movie Database
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