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Scenes We Love: Some Kind of Wonderful

by Jessica Barnes Jul 21st 2009 // 4:26PM

Filed under: Romance, Paramount, Fandom, Scenes We Love



There are plenty of John Hughes fans that consider Some Kind of Wonderful to be little more than a recycled Pretty in Pink. But today I'm going to nominate the story of Keith and Watts for Scenes We Love for a very important reason: it's about righting some wrongs. If you're a regular around here, you might remember a little theory I have about the ending of Hughes' teen masterpiece Pretty in Pink, and as it turns out I wasn't the only one who had a problem with it; as the story goes, Hughes wrote Wonderful as a way to finally get the ending that he preferred.

Wonderful was the story of Keith, a sensitive painter, and his best friend, a tom-boy drummer named Watts. When Keith makes good on the life ambition of every teen movie protagonist and goes for the popular girl (played by Lea Thompson), Watts realizes that her feelings for Keith go beyond friendship -- and, of course, what would any Hughes movie be without the abusive beautiful people (headed by Craig Sheffer) and the hoodlum with the heart of gold played by Elias Koteas -- who I've had a bit of a crush on ever since thanks to this movie.

After the jump: why I love this movie and Sheffer gets his well-deserved comeuppance..

So why do I love this movie so much? First and foremost, it's that Masterson is just so damn cool in this flick. Sure, the girls in other Hughes movies (like Pink and Sixteen Candles) were whole and complete people, which is a rarity in most movies, and even Thompson's 'popular girl' is a credit to girls everywhere. But, those girls are never really the bad ass, unless of course they are mentally unstable (a la Ally Sheedy in Breakfast Club). But Watts is something entirely different, because she is cool the way Bender was cool. This time, Watts gets the best smart-ass lines, and maybe most importantly, she never has to change who she is to win in the end (OK, she puts on a little lipstick).

Some Kind of Wonderful Fun Facts:
  • The role of Keith Nelson was written with Eric Stoltz in mind.
  • Molly Ringwald was offered the role of Amanda Jones but refused it, ending her successful relationship with John Hughes.
  • In an earlier version of the script, Keith proposes to Susan (Watts' first name) at the end.
Now for the most satisfying scene in any teen movie; the bully finally gets what he deserves.

9 Comments

Tags: 80s, craig sheffer, CraigSheffer, elias koteas, EliasKoteas, Eric Stolz, EricStolz, john hughes, JohnHughes, lea thompson, LeaThompson, mary stuart masterson, MaryStuartMasterson, Pretty in Pink, PrettyInPink, scenes we love, ScenesWeLove, Some Kind of Wonderful, SomeKindOfWonderful, teen

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