The Hughes Corporation

I haven't been sure what to write about regarding the death of John Hughes. He seemed to have run out of steam (or perhaps voluntarily retired) not long after his decade--the 80s--ended. But it wasn't that long ago when he was one of the big names in Hollywood, a rare director who essentially created his own genre, one as distinctive as, say, Hitchcock's. He even got bigger, turning into a factory, spinning off his lesser scripts to other directors. Yet, as significant as he was, I didn't always like his product.

Even before he worked in film, he was a decent writer for National Lampoon. In fact, I remember enjoying the short story that National Lampoon's Vacation was based on. It's that film, along with Mr. Mom, that broke him as a writer in Hollywood. The films may not have been brilliant, but he had a common touch, and they were hits. He got to direct next, and started concentrating on younger people.

His first four films as a director, released in the heart of the 80s, were about the world of teens, or at least Hughes' view of that world: Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Around this time, he also wrote Pretty In Pink and Some Kind Of Wonderful. They're about the lives and loves of kids growing up--like Hughes--in Chicago's north suburbs. They're generally middle class, even upper middle class (to poor kids around the world their bounty must have seemed like science fiction). All comedies, with a lot of slapstick and even more heart.

These films were hits, but I'm not that enchanted by them. They have some interesting moments, but I find them, for the most part, on the weak side, comedically. But they hit a nerve. (And they're remembered. Jon Cryer still gets recognized on the street as Duckie, though that was over 20 years ago.) I think the reason Hughes' films were so big is, for perhaps the first time, someone in Hollywood was taking teens as seriously as they take themselves. But that may be why I didn't like them that much--I love teen comedies, but not when the character are too self-important. (I'm not saying a teen comedy can't be great--look at American Graffiti--but the teens in that movie didn't self-dramatize as much, and weren't that self-aware.)

I've thought a lot about this because I've pitched and sold teen comedies. And in my meetings, every development executive was conversant with John Hughes. In fact, my least favorite film of his was a touchstone in their lives--The Breakfast Club. I'll give Hughes credit for taking a chance--the plot is about five high schoolers in detention, and the whole thing takes place in one afternoon, mostly in one room. But in this film Hughes indulges in his worst habits. These students are a bunch of whiners who all have their story about how tough life is. Though they're all different types (indeed, stereotypes), they find common ground in their hatred of the adult world, which is cold and uncaring, and has forgotten what it feels like to be young. One character says "When you grow up, your heart dies," and I think we're supposed to take this seriously. But this isn't insight, it's arrested development. The movie works for teens who feel sorry for themselves (i.e., all teens), but the moaning lacks a sense of humor, and a sense of perspective. Alas, in so many meetings I had people telling me how much they loved this film.

How I wished they'd talk about a film of Hughes that's truly great. One where he put it all together, and ended up with something funny, smart and stylish--Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Perhaps it's Matthew Broderick's sly performance, but somehow, Hughes manages to make a con man/smart ass teen, which could be a very annoying concept, into a delightful comic invention.

After this high point, Hughes apparently decided he'd gone as far as he could go, and started doing films that starred adults. He made Planes, Trains & Automobiles, a passable comedy with Steve Martin and John Candy, She's Having A Baby, and underrated movie featuring Kevin Bacon, and Uncle Buck, which I think deserves some attention.

It stars John Candy, who'd recently been in some weak vehicles. It gave him the hit he needed. It's fun (and, as often in Hughes movies, features a lot of cool recordings from the 50s and 60s) and introduced a lot of moviegoers to Macaulay Culkin, but the plot is insane. Uncle Buck is the black sheep of the family who has to babysit three kids while the parents are away indefinitely. His better side comes out as he watches over his charges. But Buck is a bizarre creation. When the threat of teen sex is about, he turns into a monster, willing to kill or torture to see it doesn't happen. I think this is all part of Hughes' separation of the purity of youth from the ugliness of adulthood, but are we supposed to laugh at a dangerous psychotic?

Hughes directed one more film, the indifferent Curly Sue, before he gave up that job. Around this time, however, he was also associated with his biggest hit, Home Alone.

I remember seeing this film and figuring the dopey slapstick, where a child outwits two burglars, would play well with kids but not anyone else. Instead it became the biggest comedy ever. Why? I'm still not sure, but I think the basic plot--leaving a child behind--was a powerful theme that struck a chord. Seeing the kid take care of himself, and his parents trying to rescue him, touched audiences in a way even Hughes hadn't expected (or he would have directed the film himself, rather than handing it off to Chris Columbus). Also, Macaulay Culkin turned out to be quite a find--I don't think the film could have worked without him.

Hughes continued to write and produce throughout the 90s, but maybe he realized his decade was over. I suppose it's better than hanging on well after your peak. It's a rare filmmaker who gets to define a decade.