OT: Director John Hughes Dies of Heart Attack

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:04 pm

I am bummed right now. I am a product of the 80's and worshiped Hughes' films. RIP

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/ ... index.html

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:39 pm

I'm right there with ya Diablo. I loved almost all of the movies he directed. They still are as great now as they were back then.

R.I.P.

nyisles16 · Post by **nyisles16** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:47 pm

"Planes" and "Vacation" are absolute jems...

RIP, and thanks...

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:16 pm

I loved his movies also...RIP.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:43 pm

R.I.P.

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:27 am

First, I would like to say that It's terrible that he passed at such a young age. My thoughts are with his family.

That being said, and at the risk of coming off as an ass, he was pretty overrated IMO. He only directed a handful of films and I'd only consider one of them great and the rest pretty much average or slightly above average. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is his one great film. Planes, Trains would come in second. The rest have aged pretty poorly and only live on because of my generations' misplaced nostalgia for that lame decade that is the 80's. (see current hipster trends of vintage ray bans and glorification of mix tapes).

Check out his writing credits over the last 10 or more years. It's frightening how many horrendous movies he's written. Flubber anyone? How about Home Alone 3?

Again, said to see him go. When I heard about it I felt genuinely sad, but I also felt compelled to give my 2 cents on his career.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 9:01 am

His movies were a HUGE part of my childhood. No doubt about it. I also have a connection with his films because they were all filmed in the area I grew up (and live now). I grew up in Winnetka, IL and then lived many years in Evanston, IL. His two most popular filming spots. A ton of my friends were in Uncle Buck (in fact the first girl I ever kissed has a 'cameo' in the film).

It was a bummer that he was not able to continue the magic in his later years but he will be missed!

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 9:12 am

I'm greatly saddened by his passing.

His death certainly provokes the age-old argument about pop art versus "high" art. I'd wager that despite the shortcomings that Kings points out, Hughes has touched infinitely more lives with his work than putatively "important" director like Cassavetes or Bergman. And I don't just mean that he was more commercially successful. His movies clearly connected with the market, but he's no Michael Bay who's success extends little beyond the balance sheet. The themes he addressed resonated deeply with his audience, his films remain emotionally connected to his fans. That's successful art by any measure.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 10:51 am

Truly sad for me as his movies practically defined my teenage years. I would whole-heartedly disagree that he's overrated and that only Ferris Beuller and P,T, & A are the only movies above average.

As a director in the 80's this is a pretty damn good list:
Uncle Buck (1989)
She's Having a Baby (1988)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Weird Science (1985)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Sixteen Candles (1984)

Outside of 'She's Having a Baby' the rest are true classics. That may be too but that is the one Hughes movie I never saw. People still use quotes from Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Planes, Trains, & Automobiles to this day.

He never really recaptured any of that magic beyond the 80's but that doesn't make him overrated. The man, IMO, defined an era of film making and that can't be overlooked. Teen movies in the 80's belonged to Hughes. To this day 'The Breakfast Club' is still in my top 3 of favorite movies.

Maybe I'm a little blinded because he's a local guy who used this area as a setting for most of his films but I'd like to think his movies resonated with people my age outside of Illinois.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:24 am

If Hughes is overrated, then I guess you can call Tarantino overrated, too. After all, like Hughes in the 80s, Tarantino had a spurt of creative genius in the 90s with flicks like "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown." But what has he done of any consequence in the last five or six years?

Of course, no one would call Tarantino overrated -- except for maybe me! But you can argue the guy made only one great film, "Pulp Fiction," in his genre, yet I think Hughes had three very influential and great flicks, in the coming-of-age genre with "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and the buddy flick genre with "Planes, Trains and Automobiles."

Hell, John Hughes' movies have more resonance with me than anything Tarantino every did. He rates highly in my book.

RIP.

Take care,
PK

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:48 am

^^^^^^Ditto. Exactly my thoughts about both directors...

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:24 pm

Agree with PK here.

Not even in my top 5 of overrated writer / directors.

Spike Lee tops that list IMO.

Lucas is another.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:00 pm

John Hughes overrated? There are a lot of guys in that field that would kill to have his resume. Sixteen Candles will always be my favorite Hughes movie and I think "Some Kind of Wonderful" is probably his most underrated piece of work. Sad sad day yesterday....

Tim

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:15 pm

Ahh, Some Kind of Wonderful was a pretty good movie. I didn't realize he directed it.

There's nothing like a lazy Sunday and you're flipping through the channels, and you catch Sixteen Candles or Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, or any other of his films on TBS. It doesn't matter how many times you've seen the movie. It's that simple, yet wonderful story line that immediately draws you in, whether it's just starting or is already 45 minutes into the movie.

It's rare I'll watch a movie more than twice these days, but with his I'm quite sure I'll watch each one of them them at least a dozen times over the course of my life time.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 4:46 pm

Well Say Anything connected with people too.

So did When Harry Met Sally and a bunch of other chick flicks.

Hughes has a lot of dreck on his resume, if not as director then as writer and producer.

It may be more about the nature of pop culture and mass media than any intrinsic merit in those movies.

Look at all the personal testimonials from people about how MJ's music touched them.

There's no accounting for taste.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 6:59 pm

Not sure why every time there's movie discussion on this board, it turns into 'is tarantino overrated', but I'll talk about hughes. Hughes made a bunch of clunkers, but he made a handful of fantastic films. I don't think his movies were ever "over-hyped" nor were his movies met with high expectations.

One of my friends spent a few days with Hughes when he was doing the Ferris Bueller DVD re-release commentary track. He was easy going and understood 'Ferris' was a silly film & didn't treat it like any high-art. When they went to lunch one day, my friend thought it was funny that absolutely no one knew who hughes was. This was a dude who's movies made 100's of millions of $$$, yet most people couldn't picture what he looked like.

Think about hot shot directors today like Brett Ratner, McG, and Guy Ritchie. These guys make the movies (and the marketing) just as much about them & their "brilliance" as the films themselves. The fact that Hughes was just as visible (or invisible) when a movie was a hit as when it was a bomb, was refreshing in-light of Hollywood today.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:49 pm

wco81 wrote:Well Say Anything connected with people too.

So did When Harry Met Sally and a bunch of other chick flicks.

Hughes has a lot of dreck on his resume, if not as director then as writer and producer.

It may be more about the nature of pop culture and mass media than any intrinsic merit in those movies.

Look at all the personal testimonials from people about how MJ's music touched them.

There's no accounting for taste.

Wow, your horse has long legs.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:22 pm

ScoopBrady wrote:
wco81 wrote:Well Say Anything connected with people too.

So did When Harry Met Sally and a bunch of other chick flicks.

Hughes has a lot of dreck on his resume, if not as director then as writer and producer.

It may be more about the nature of pop culture and mass media than any intrinsic merit in those movies.

Look at all the personal testimonials from people about how MJ's music touched them.

There's no accounting for taste.
Wow, your horse has long legs.

Remember, Scoop, there's always a portion of people who feel superior because they engorge themselves on a steady diet of art films, foreign films, the Sundance Channel and IFC.

It's no different when you read Pitchfork to take the temperature of modern music. If you aren't creating chamber music art-rock or a member of a beard band, there's a very good chance Pitchfork will slash and burn your latest record, especially if you have a major-label deal. That makes Pitchfork's editors feel as if they're MENSA-level arbiters of music.

Take care,
PK

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 9:16 pm

There will be the same elegies and sentimentality about Adam Sandler, Julia Lewis, Seth Rogen, etc.

Yawn.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 10:16 pm

wco81 wrote:There will be the same elegies and sentimentality about Adam Sandler, Julia Lewis, Seth Rogen, etc.

Yawn.

And the same amount of condescension and hand wringing from the legends in their own minds who consider themselves intellectually more stimulating than the great, unwashed masses.

Double-yawn. I need a large coffee.

Take care,
PK

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:27 am

Agree with you PK and will throw in a triple yawn.

RIP from one of the proud unwashed masses.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:42 am

Breakfast Club and Uncle Buck are two of my favorite movies. As was said earlier, you can be flicking through channels, land on one of these and just start watching.

I was just finishing up in my outhouse when I heard of his passing and was saddened by the news. RIP.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:37 am

Weird Science is probably my favorite Hughes film. Too many funny scenes. I was the same age as the characters in the movie when it came out so it was brilliance to me. I have always been a huge Anthony Michael Hall fan also.

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 7:12 pm

Pete wrote:Breakfast Club and Uncle Buck are two of my favorite movies. As was said earlier, you can be flicking through channels, land on one of these and just start watching.

Buck: "What is that, dirty dancing?"

BTW, Tia from Uncle Buck? Fast forward several years to the sitcom Yes, Dear. She played the wife.

Hughes had a fine resume. Many of his movies (including Uncle Buck) are in my DVD library.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 8:35 pm

F308GTB wrote:
Pete wrote:Breakfast Club and Uncle Buck are two of my favorite movies. As was said earlier, you can be flicking through channels, land on one of these and just start watching.
Buck: "What is that, dirty dancing?"

BTW, Tia from Uncle Buck? Fast forward several years to the sitcom Yes, Dear. She played the wife.

Hughes had a fine resume. Many of his movies (including Uncle Buck) are in my DVD library.

Lisa, "Chip, that is a Pershing missile."
Chet, "Chet. My naaaame is Chet...and I didn't think it was a whale's dick honey."