Ferris Buellers Day Off Tagged Articles at Cinematical

While her essay is sentimental, it's not saccharine, and like Ms. Ringwald herself, it's beautiful. She offers us a rare glimpse into the reclusive director, "a sort of J.D. Salinger for Generation X" whom she compares to Peter Pan with a huge, open heart that eventually closed off to the world of Hollywood.

She writes, "Most people who knew John knew that he was able to hold a grudge longer than anyone - his grudges were almost supernatural things, enduring for years, even decades. Michael suspects that he was never forgiven for turning down parts in Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I turned down later films as well. Not because I didn't want to work with John anymore -- I loved working with him, more than anyone before or since...

Eventually, though, I felt that I needed to work with other people as well. I wanted to grow up, something I felt (rightly or wrongly) I couldn't do while working with John. Sometimes I wonder if that was what he found so unforgivable. We were like the Darling children when they made the decision to leave Neverland. And John was Peter Pan, warning us that if we left we could never come back. And, true to his word, not only were we unable to return, but he went one step further. He did away with Neverland itself."

And just like we all have our favorite memories of watching Hughes movies, so do his stars. Read her essay -- it will make you feel like you were there, crawling through the AC ducts above Maine North High School during detention.

I began writing this article within minutes of hearing the news that John Hughes passed away unexpectedly this afternoon, and I'm still reeling a bit, more than I had anticipated. Like most movie fans of my generation, I first heard of him in the summer of 1983, when two movies he'd written, Mr. Mom and National Lampoon's Vacation, were released within a week of each other. I saw both, smiling at Mr. Mom and laughing hard throughout Vacation. The following year, Sixteen Candles, his directorial debut, hit theaters, and he was off to the races.

Hughes was a prolific writer and a busy producer throughout the 80s and 90s, leaving his personal stamp on dozens of projects, not to mention the eight films that he personally directed. He mined his suburban Midwestern teenage territory thoroughly, leaving no awkward, class-conscious, embarrassing, financially slighted, pretty in pink, uncomfortable stone unturned. He left behind so many memorable movie moments that it would be a foolhardy project for me to try and list them all, but here are seven of his greatest, listed chronologically.

1. National Lampoon's Vacation
Hughes expanded his own short story into an epic road trip, as the Griswold family heads west from Chicago on a "quest for fun" to Walley World. Along the way, they endure annoying relatives, smelly Aunt Edna, and a dog that becomes a drag. Oh, and Dad tries skinny dipping with a supermodel. The clip that seems most emblematic of their travails comes late in the picture, as Mom and the kids start complaining again, until Dad finally loses it. Hughes was an expert at using the "f-word" (and other profanity) to great comedic effect. [Watch clip after the jump.]

No skipping this week! Bump a couple of these up to "buy" if your budget allows.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story of a man who ages backwards becomes a staggering, three-hour demonstration of superb make-up and seamless computer effects under the direction of David Fincher. Despite the length, only one note is played -- everyone else's pity for "poor Benjamin" -- while the man himself (Brad Pitt) remains a frustrating cipher. With Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

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Last Chance Harvey
While in London for his daughter's wedding, New York jingle-writer Dustin Hoffman romances Emma Thompson. "A movie for grown-ups, but not in that clammy, Oscar-craving way that would make it untenable; it's a movie about people that takes place in the real world," said James Rocchi in his review for Cinematical. Directed by Joel Hopkins. Also on Blu-ray. Rent it.

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Wendy and Lucy
Michelle Williams stars as "a down-on-her-luck girl who's hoping to turn things around for herself with a summer job at a fishing cannery in Alaska," wrote Kim Voynar in her Cinematical review. When her car breaks down and her beloved dog goes missing in a small town in Oregon, she is "forced to make a series of increasingly difficult choices, and to rely upon the kindness (or not) of strangers to resolve her plight." Directed by Kelly Reichardt (the superb Old Joy), who "excels at capturing these small, very human moments in the overall stories of her characters' lives." Rent it.

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After the jump: Indies on DVD, Blu-ray, and Collector's Corner!

• During the parade several of the people seen dancing (including the construction worker and the window washer) originally had nothing to do with the film. They were simply dancing to the music being played and John Hughes found it so humorous that he told the camera operators to record it.

• The dance sequence by the group on the stairs during Ferris's lip-synch performance of Twist and Shout is taken directly out of Michael Jackson's Thriller video.
• The Parade sequence (Twist and Shout scene) was filmed during the Von Steuben Day Parade. An annual event in the Chicagoland area.