Pretty in Pink (Movie)

Pretty in Pink. Paramount, 1986.
Cast: Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Jon Cryer, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts, James Spader.
Director: Howard Deutch.
Rating: PG-13.
Length: 96 minutes.
ASIN: B00005JKOI

Plot:

At Andie’s school, the students are strictly divided between the rich and the poor; the two sides never mix. Andie is one of the poor students. Her father is depressed and only working part time after her mother left them. To help out, Andie works at a record store after school and makes her own clothes. She has very few friends, one of which is Duckie, a dorky boy who is madly in love with her and not afraid to show it. One day, Blane, one of the rich students, starts to show some interest in her. He asks her out, but the date is a disaster. His friends are rude to her and her friends are rude to him. The date ends with Andie in tears because she in embarrassed for Blane to see where she lives. Blane insists that it doesn’t matter and asks her to go to prom with him. The two continue to date, but his creepy friend, Steff, manages to convince Blane that they shouldn’t be together. After confronting Blane in the hallway and breaking up, Andie decides that she should go to the prom anyway. She creates another masterpiece, a pink prom dress, and Duckie accompanies her to the prom. Blane has come alone, however, and is there to apologize to Andie and declare his love for her.

Critical Evaluation:

Pretty in Pink is the quintessential 80s movie. It’s a perfect example of the fashion and music of the time, which is something that many teens today enjoy. It’s more than just a blast from the past, however. The central storyline - that of looking past the labels to be with the person you love - is something that modern teens can understand.

Molly Ringwald plays Andie with maturity and sweet sincerity. Her portrayal of a daughter trying to take care of herself and her heartbroken father, while maintaining her hopefulness and dignity, is an outstanding performance. Andrew McCarthy as Blane’s wooing of her is charming in its execution; even when he caves to the pressure of his jerky friend and leaves, it’s still hard to hate him. Possibly the best character in the movie is Duckie, played by Jon Cryer. He’s adorable and hilarious, especially in his love for Andie. The scene where he lip-syncs to “Try a Little Tenderness” is the funniest in the movie. He’s allowed a chance to be more than comic relief, however, when displaying both his heartache at watching Andie fall in love with someone else and his affection for her when he encourages her to open her heart and forgive Blane.

Annotation:

Andie, a poor girl, and Blane, a rich boy, fall in love while their friends try to keep them apart.

Director Information:

Howard Deutch was born September 14, 1950 in New York. He attended the University of Ohio and then joined the advertising department at United Artist Records. After leaving advertising, he went into business for himself and started his directing career by directing music videos for musicians such as Billy Idol and Billy Joel. His first feature length film was Pretty in Pink.

He met his wife, Lea Thompson, while directing her in Some Kind of Wonderful in 1987. They were married in 1989. He’s since directed her in several other movies and television appearances. They have two daughters.

Genre:

Movie: Romantic Drama

Curriculum Ties:

None

Movie Talking Ideas:

• Talk about falling in love with someone your friends don't like.
• Compare Blane and Duckie.
• Discuss Andie's relationship with her father.

Interest Age:

13 and older

Challenge Issues:

Sexual content
Profanity
Alcohol and tobacco use

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

It's a classic teen movie.

Speak (Movie)

Speak. Showtime Independent Films, 2004.
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Michael Angarano, Robert John Burke, Hallee Hirsh, Eric Lively.
Director: Jessica Sharzer.
Writer: Laurie Halse Anderson (Novel), Jessica Sharzer (Screenplay)
Rating: PG-13.
Length: 93 minutes.
ASIN: B000A7Q2I2

Plot:

Melinda Sordino begins her freshman year of high school as an outcast. Over the summer, she attended a party where she was raped by Andy Evans, a senior. Scared and hurt, she called 911 and when the police came, everyone blamed her for trying to bust the party. Even her friends won’t talk to her and worse, her best friend Rachel begins dating Andy. Traumatized from the rape and unable to talk to anyone about it, Melinda slowly begins to lose the will to speak at all. She is a clever and witty girl, but her comments are only heard through her thought voice-overs. Her inability to speak isn’t helped by her weird teachers, especially the coach who bullies her. The only people who are able to get through to her are her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, and her lab partner, Dave Petrakis. Mr. Freeman encourages Melinda to express herself through art and she finds that she really enjoys doing so. She begins to decorate an unused storage closet that she finds and it becomes her escape when school is too much to handle. Melinda finally gains the courage to tell Rachel what happened. Rachel doesn’t believe her, but eventually confronts Andy about it causing Andy to come after Melinda. With the help of the people who do believe in her, Melinda must learn to speak again and stand up for herself.

Critical Evaluation:

Speak is a fairly loyal movie adaptation of the book, but it does seem as if something is lost in the translation. Though Melinda is an endearing character in both the book and the movie, it’s impossible to include all of her wit, charm, pain, and fear in the screen version. However, Kristin Stewart does an excellent job conveying it as well as is possible. The story is sad without being overly maudlin and it does include several moments of humor. The ending is uplifting and empowering; it is an aspect of the book that was able to be adapted well for the screen.

Speak has a message that goes beyond the surface story of speaking up about a rape. It shows the difficulty and importance of gaining the courage to speak up for yourself in any situation. This is a wonderful message for teenagers in general and young girls specifically. The book has proven to have a large positive impact on its readers and the move is sure to do the same.

Annotation:

After a traumatic experience at a party the summer before, Melinda begins her freshman year of high school as an outcast who has stopped speaking.

Director Information:

Jessica Sharzer was born October 26, 1972 in Iowa City, Iowa. She attended Wesleyan University for her undergraduate education. She then received an M.A. from Berkeley and an M.F.A. in film from New York University.

She began her career in 1998 and has worked in almost all aspects of the film business, other than acting. She began directing short films in 2000. Speak has been her only feature length directorial project. She also wrote the screenplay for the movie.

Genre:

Movie: Drama

Curriculum Ties:

Art: Therapeutic Value of Art
Psychology: Sexual Assault Victim Mentality, Rape Recovery
Health/Sex Ed: Healthy Relationships, Healthy Sexual Contact

Movie Talking Ideas:

• Present as Melinda talking about losing her ability to speak.
• Focus on the opening scene of the movie.
• Focus on the rape survivor aspect and speaking up.

Interest Age:

13 and older

Challenge Issues:

Rape
Inappropriate language

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

I've read the book, but I was unaware there was a movie until hearing about the challenge against it in Republic, MO. I decided I wanted to see if the movie was a fair representation of the book.