You know, something has bothered me about "Pretty in Pink" for a while now. At first, it was just the whole cliche about the wrong side of the tracks girl/rich guy angle that all John Hughes movies seem to feature, but then I thought some more about it.
This is a horrible movie. Not the acting or the quality of the film, just the concept. This girl, under unfortunate circumstances, is basically being stalked by three different people with three different intensities.
Duckie, the most blatant of those, follows her everywhere, watching her every move. He admittedly rides by her house several times a day to check on her obsessively, does not approve of her associating with anyone other than himself or others he feels are worthy, calls her constantly, talks to himself, and seems to just have no concept of reality. BUT, since he hides it behind being adorable and quirky, everyone watching the movie (myself included for a while) just melts at his seeming harmless misfortune and some go as far as to say he should have gotten the girl.
Steff, the "villain" of the movie is only obvious to the main character. He pursues her in private, mostly just for sex because he cares too much for his reputation to actually be SEEN with her in a social capacity. When rebuffed, he puts in motion plans to make her life more difficult in a classic "if-I-can't-have-you-no-on-can" effort.
BUT, Blane also fits into this category, if on a different level. His pursuit of Andy was also private. Hacking school computers to talk in private, and though he attempts to take her to one of the parties in his social class (which, from one perspective could be seen as just an act to gain her trust), after that, the relationship goes undercover, isolating Andy from her family and friends (except the aforementioned Duckie, who would have known because of his stalking anyway). He makes her feel special (seemingly because someone of his standing chose her despite her upbringing and financial situation) only to abandon her in favor of keeping appearances with his clique. We feel happy at the end of the movie because he runs after her, but what we really fail to think about is that he does this ALONE and away from all the other people at the prom (both rich and poor alike) and still has the ability and opportunity to continue to manipulate her in the future. But we like him as the hero of the movie because he is the lesser of two evils (or the quieter of three evils, if you will).
Now, it occurred to me while watching this movie tonight (for about the thousandth time) that I have dated both a "Duckie" and a "Steff." Neither of which were pleasant experiences. So, I feel at least 2/3rds qualified to make these statements. I know that some people may disagree with me or think I am reading too much into it, but they are entitled to their opinions just as I am entitled to mine. This in no way means that I do not love the movie, because I do and I always have and probably always will.
I need a life.
(This was originally posted on my Facebook in October and I thought I'd share it.)
