Nothing Spaces » She thinks you’re the Cat’s Meow!: In loving memory of John Hughes

She thinks you’re the Cat’s Meow!: In loving memory of John Hughes // August 7, 2009

My first encounter with John Hughes was in the third grade, when I was confined in the hospital for contracting something called “acute viral infection” (I’m still not sure what it is). Sixteen Candles was on HBO and my life changed forever. What followed next was a frantic search for it on video. My uncle runs a video rental and up until this day, a small part of me still hasn’t forgiven him for not having a copy of this, dare I say, classic.

Samantha Baker is, perhaps, the first person who I wanted to be like. Or the first character who seemed to feel like I felt. As Farmer Ted put it, “Not many girls in contemporary American society would give their underwear to help a geek like me.” She is awesome. For a while, I even wanted to be referred to by my second first name, ‘Samantha.’ (Also, Jake Ryan, duh. Of course, I related to her. Never mind that I was barely 10 years old and hooked to an IV bag.)

But to digress from my digression, the movie was nowhere to be found. What I did run into was a VCD copy of Pretty in Pink, which in my Hughes-Ringwald-deprived state, was good enough for me. I watched it, liked it (although, obviously not as much as my first John Hughes love), even though it made it glaringly clear that I do not have a Duckie or a Blane.

In my quest to find a copy of this elusive video, I made friends with The Breakfast Club and, through my Tita Tine, who lives in New Jersey, I also made friends with Ferris Bueller. The age of the VHS tape came and went, and by the time I did finally get a copy of Sixteen Candles, tapes were obsolete, and so were the references. And yet.

Hey, John Cusack. You don’t know it yet, but you are going to make
a million girls fall in love with you. Just you wait and see.

The thing of it is that John Hughes is legendary because, underneath the (sometimes corny) rhyming (“He’s as drunk as a skunk!”), the cheeseball sound effects and the funny eighties slang, he knew where it counted in high school, no matter what era. The tragedy of forgotten birthdays, the thrill of skipping class, the wonder of that first kiss. He knew why, no matter what happens, the principal is always The Enemy, that the best friend doesn’t always get the girl (and that it’s OK), how love and friendship can be infuriating (and that it’s OK, too). He knew the truth, that: “We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.” He got it — that it’s OK to be different, that we never really know a person until we know a person, that it is not possible from embarrassment, even though it feels like it is, that everyone gets a happy ending (in the form of Jake Ryan or otherwise) and most importantly, that rock and roll is here to stay.

He knew where it counted, knew that we knew, too. And this is why, in the midst of all the deaths in the world in the past few months, John Hughes’ is probably the one that breaks my heart the most.

I miss John Hughes. I miss high school. I miss being sixteen.

You, yes, you.

To ease you through the mourning and the grieving, Twitter’s on a roll with John Hughes quotes.

“Life moves pretty fast.
If you don’t stop and look around once in a while,
you could miss it.”

Rest in Peace, Mr. Hughes.
Thank you for everything.

i open at the close.

In films | 10 Comments

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I was introduced to John Hughes only first year of college. However, he reminded me how great high school was, being sixteen, and just first of first everything. Molly Ringwald was my onscreen Jessica Darling

Comment by aziel — August 7, 2009 #
That’s great. :) A lot of the things I love were introduced to me also in college, but John Hughes is dear to my heart in a different way just because I absolutely remember watching Sixteen Candles for the first time, loving it, losing it and finding it again. :)

Is Megan McCafferty your friend on Facebook? Her status says that without John Hughes, there would be no Marcus FLutie. What a tragedy would that have been!

Also, I hope you’ve read Perfect Fifths. It’s a nice ending to the series. :)

Comment by Carina — August 7, 2009 #
Jake Ryan! Haha I remember, is Sixteen Candles also the same one where they had a Dong-Luk something and there was a house party John Cusack crashed?

Comment by Martin — August 7, 2009 #
Hey Martin! Yup, Long Duk Dong. Haha it’s supposed to be funny.

Comment by Carina — August 8, 2009 #
Oh gosh, it’s funny how you don’t know who people are until they’re dead. I loved ‘The Breakfast Club’ and ‘Pretty In Pink,’ plus I try so hard to be the Ferris Bueller of my high school, but I never paid attention to who the director was. High school by John Hughes is so different from my own current experiences, and it’s fun to just go back and see it through his eyes.

I’ll have to rent ‘Sixteen Candles’ soon.

Comment by Carlos — August 8, 2009 #
Hey Carlos, I know what you mean. It’s funny how each of those movies are a part of you, and you had no idea they were made by the same person. I guess life’s funny like that. :)

Sixteen Candles is such a great movie. My high school experiences differ from those in his movies, too, but I think they mean so much to me, because of his characters. They have got so much heart. It kind of saddens me how the movies that people watch and make these days do not seem to have the same vibe, if that makes sense.

Anyway, this is a long-ass comment. I hope you enjoy Sixteen Candles, if you ever get a chance to rent it. Sorry if I ruined the ending via the screenshots. It’s a good movie either way. :)

Comment by Carina — August 8, 2009 #
Hee! John Cussak is actually cuter as a kid, I find :3

Comment by claudia — August 9, 2009 #
Hey Claudia, yeah he absolutely was. Except, he wasn’t Lloyd Dobler here yet. :)

Comment by Carina — August 9, 2009 #
Hi, I’m a random person. I’ve been reading your blog for quite some time now, but I never really felt compelled to comment until this John Hughes entry.

I still say Breakfast Club is my favorite movie. John Hughes will surely be missed :(

Comment by Mara — August 15, 2009 #
Hey Mara, thanks for leaving a comment. Much appreciated. :) Ugh. This happened a few days ago, but every time I think about it, I really cannot believe he’s gone, so I know where you’re coming from.

I consoled myself with a movie marathon, maybe that would help you, too. :)

Comment by Carina — August 20, 2009 #