Scenes We Hate: Pretty in Pink
Filed under: Fandom, Trailers and Clips
For women of a certain age, Pretty in Pink is the film for any gal who ever felt a little left of center from the beautiful people. After this flick came out, Molly Ringwald was our patron saint, and Pink was our religion. But, as the story goes, after disastrous test screenings, John Hughes (and Ringwald) decided to scrap the first ending (with Andie and her best friend Duckie, played by Jon Cryer, falling in love and dancing to David Bowie's Heroes) and replace it with Andie (Ringwald) and the bland pretty boy Blane (Andrew McCarthy) reuniting at the prom (in front of his shiny BMW no less) -- and to this day it still ticks me off. To me that ending wasn't about overcoming labels about being rich or poor, it was about the popular and the truly cool, and to watch Andie wander off to the dark side with boring old Blane was not the emotional moment Hughes was probably hoping for (which is also why I liked Some Kind of Wonderful so much; at least Girl-Duckie wins in the end of that flick).
Maybe it was because I had a crush on Duckie, or maybe it's just because I don't like easy endings, but to this day, whenever I watch this movie, I turn it off right before the ending so I don't have to be disappointed all over again. Unfortunately, footage of the original ending has become the stuff of legend. But, just to show you I'm not alone on this one, take a look at a new edit provided by another Pink fan looking to right some wrongs...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-27-2009 @ 2:10PM
Eric said...
Is this original footage lost? It would be great to see this show up on DVD somewhere.
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2-27-2009 @ 2:38PM
scott said...
I couldn't agree with you more, Jessica!!!
Never understood why she didn't end up with Duckie (although he did get Buffy...) any ideas on how to splice this into my DVD? :-)
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2-27-2009 @ 2:43PM
Kurt Munro said...
How about the laughable scene in Boondock Saints where they play operatic music over Dafoe investigating outside?
That movie has some of the worst scenes ever.
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2-27-2009 @ 2:56PM
AndyIII said...
As a former Duckie...hell, maybe still the Duckie really... I could not agree more. I hate the ending of this movie.
It's sort of like...hey, alright, we both get someone bland that we're sure to eventually tire of! I wanna see my 'Pretty in Pink II' get made...here's an excerpt:
INTERIOR: Suburban Chicago Bedroom
ANDIE: "What are you trying to say!?!?!"
BLANE: "I'm just saying, for a company event like this, I would really appreciate it if you could just wear something a little more...ummm...you know, *normal*."
I'd like to know who in the hell was at these test screenings. I don't know anyone who likes the end of this movie. I guess maybe Blane called all his buddies in their BMWs to go see it.
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2-27-2009 @ 3:11PM
Mr. R said...
Duckie was a good guy and great friend but she liked a man, deal with it, she was into a guy with a lot more class that could dine her in a cool place without looking like a retard. I can't count the many times I met cool girls who I would have fallen in love with but they just don' t have that extra something that makes you go crazy. Sorry, I like it the way it is.
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2-27-2009 @ 3:39PM
GL said...
It wouldn't have felt right for me if Duckie and Andie ended up together. They didn't belong as a romantic couple as the movie is cut now. That ending would require more changes.
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2-28-2009 @ 10:59AM
Sambo said...
I can't see Duckie and Andie as couple either but I don't think this "new ending" is suggesting that they are a couple. The way I interpreted it is that she's over Blane and has a new found respect and appreciation for Duckie. The hand holding and the hugging is just a display that those two will remain close friends and probably nothing more.
2-27-2009 @ 8:46PM
KateGee said...
Molly is right - if RDJ had been cast as Duckie the other ending would have worked. I liked Duckie as a friend (more like a girl friend) but I didn't like Blando either. And I HATED what she did to that dress. Loved Annie Potts and HDS - but not one of my favourite Hughes movies. And Spader's evil was way too evolved for high school.
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2-28-2009 @ 3:38AM
Jim said...
heh. I found out about the reshoots a couple of years after the movie came out.
I initially had NO IDEA that Andrew McCarthy was wearing a wig!
Now that I know about that, however, it's the ONLY THING I can pay attention to in the final scene! Honestly, a naked, belly dancing midget on McCarthy's head would be less obvious, no?
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2-28-2009 @ 9:16AM
Julio said...
I completely agree, but one small correction: To my knoweldge, Andi and Duckie were supposed to dance to a different OMD song, "Goddess of Love," which was written for the film. When the ending was changed, Hughes went back to OMD and asked for a different song. Thus, we got the classic "If You Leave." So at least something good came of it (though "Goddess of Love" is a great song, too).
I interviewed John Hughes in 1999 -- I think it may have been one of the last interviews he ever did; he's kind of a recluse now. I wish I had thought to ask him about this, but I didn't. Interview's at http://www.ink19.com/issues_F/99_03/screen/john_hughes.shtml, for the curious.
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