Recently, I realized that as much as I love movies and TV, I haven’t watched a lot of the classics. So, I decided I wanted to start watching all the classic rom-coms first. To do this, I started watching them by streaming them over discord with some online friends. Thanks to everyone over on the ARIA 51 discord server that made my first-time watching experience better, by the way. Last time, I watched Sixteen Candles, this time, I watched Pretty in Pink. I didn’t intend to start with two Molly Ringwald movies, it was just a coincidence. Nonetheless, this movie was much tamer by comparison.
A Quick Synopsis
Pretty in Pink is about Andie, a poor girl, who falls for a rich boy named Blane. But her best friend, Duckie, is also in love with her. Throughout the movie, a lot of her feelings are more focused on how she and Blane are from different worlds. And she wonders if it’ll work between them because of it. Duckie, however, cares about Andie and tries to pull her away from Blane, who he assumes is just some rich douchebag. So, their friendship’s on the rocks for a lot of the movie. But it doesn’t change the way Duckie feels about her. In the end, however, Duckie steps aside and chooses to continue being her best friend. And thus letting her choose Blane.
Duckie’s Characterization
When looking at the official plot of the movie (via IMDB), it markets the movie as if Andie’s trying to choose between both guys. The reality, however, is that she doesn’t worry about who she wants to choose. She very clearly picks Blane. Duckie is just her best friend who also happens to be in love with her. But she doesn’t feel the same. Instead, she’s just into Blane. And Duckie’s not happy about it and breaks off the friendship when she goes out with Blane. But I think audiences rooted for Duckie more.
I mean, Duckie’s the best friend who’s in love with Andie, and has been for years. But I will say that Duckie’s behavior towards Andie after she tells him about Blane is atrocious. He does eventually apologize, but Duckie basically throws a fit. It reminds us all that he’s just a teenager. But it’s also annoying because Andie’s very clearly not into him but Duckie doesn’t want to take no for an answer. At the very least, he apologizes at the end and lets Andie be happy with Blane. Apparently, Andie ends up with Duckie in the original movie ending but I can see why that version didn’t end up happening.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I can see why Pretty in Pink is such a popular movie. It deals with the classic money conflict between two people. And it’s between two teenagers as well as adding a love triangle in there. Kind of. Then, there’s the outfits. Blane’s are nicer and cleaner when compared to Andie and Duckie’s more accessorized sense of style. Andie and Duckie wear multiple layers of clothing, which was very popular in the 80’s. Then, there was the prom and Andie’s dress, which is just iconic. Even though Molly Ringwald apparently didn’t like it at the time. The love story is pretty simplistic but it’s not meant to be taken too seriously. So, I’d say the biggest success comes from the outfits. And it’s definitely the part I’ll remember the most.