So many of the words that have been written so far about John Hughes upon his death yesterday at the far-too-young age of 59 have been written by Gen-Xers who were in junior high school or high school when The Breakfast Club was released in 1985. I was nine years out of high school then, and maybe should have been too grown-up to care. But nine years isn’t nearly long enough to forget the hell that is high school. So much of the movie, and Hughes’ other teen flicks, still rang true to me both then and now.
You see us as you want to see us. In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at 7:00 this morning.
I never really considered myself truly a part of any group in high school. In hindsight, it was a defense against being rejected. I spent a lot of time making sure I was accepted by everyone, but never really trying to become truly a part of any one group. I really didn’t care (or at least I didn’t think I cared) to be embraced by any group, I just wanted everyone to accept me and not give me any trouble. I probably still do that now.
So yeah, this part really spoke to me, and again, both then and now:
You see us as you want to see us. In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain… and an athlete… and a basket case… a princess… and a criminal. Does that answer your question?
It’s obviously true. If there wasn’t something of every so-called group in me, my strategy wouldn’t have worked, would it? But enough about my demented and sad, but social, past and present.
As I’ve mentioned before, I will watch just about anything filmed in either of my two hometowns, even if it sucks. Thankfully, John Hughes’ movies didn’t suck. I always loved that he set most of his films in his home and mine, Chicago and the nearby suburbs. And even more so, that he lived here, rather than in Hollywood, even during the height of his success. Chicago and the north shore suburbs were really showcased well, and we always had fun either accidentally or on purpose finding the locations in the movies.
Given the name of this blog, I have to also express my appreciation for the decent amount of on-screen time given to Rottweilers in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Christmas Vacation. Freya and Axel say a big arf-ing “thank you!”
Hughes’ death might be the 2009 celebrity death that affects me the most. Please forgive me for being extremely lame and re-quoting probably the most-quoted Hughes movie line of the last couple of days (from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), because it’s just too true:
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
RIP John Hughes, and RIP to just a little more of my wasted youth.
(NaBloPoMo | August ’09: 7 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 195 of 274)