“The Blind Spot Series is a movie challenge created by Ryan McNeil at The Matinee. The goal is to watch one movie a month, over the course of one year. These should be films that you believe are essential viewings for every movie fan: they can be classics, cult films, modern masterpieces.” The series is currently being hosted by Sofia da Costa. Read more on her website Returning Videotapes.

“It’s after seven o-clock. Don’t waste that lip gloss!”

Ever since me and my sister’s Easy-A-triggered, bombastic 1980’s teenage movie marathon, it’s been one of my favorite genres. I can’t imagine my life without the influence of John Hughes anymore. Naturally, Pretty in Pink has been high on my watch list since that time, as it has all the ingredients of the 1980’s cult classic: Molly Ringwald, teenage angst, l-o-v-e and the influence of John Hughes.

The film follows the young high-schooler Andie, who lives with her unemployed father and works in a record shop. She is quite independent, seemingly running the household since her mother passed away, designing her own clothes and not caring what the rich kids at school think about her. In truth, a few of the richer boys are secretly intrigued by her. One of them, Blane, starts to act on his feelings and eventually they start dating. But Andie is very self-conscious about their difference in status. Just like she expected, his friends aren’t too happy about the pairing. On top of that, Andie seems to be losing her best friend Duckie, who was secretly in love with her.

Pretty in Pink doesn’t completely reach the high bar that was set by The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and similar movies, but it is still a very enjoyable, light coming of age movie with some unusual aspects. I saw many similarities to last year’s Lady Bird, such as the scene where Andie admires the big mansions in the rich neighborhood, dreaming about living in one of them. While Lady Bird was specifically interesting in its portrayal of a complicated mother-daughter relationship, Pretty in Pink focuses on the dynamics between a young woman and her father. Andie is very forgiving and much more mature than Saoirse Ronan’s character, while her father is much warmer but also more broken than the mother in Lady Bird. It’s wonderful to see Andie caring for her father, but also the way in which she shares her experiences with him, discussing her romantic life quite openly.

I loved the way how the film follows many clichés about young love and romantic films in general, yet manages to stay different enough to stay interesting. Andie never questions or changes herself, so that you almost get surprised when you realize that she’s too embarrassed to show her home to her boyfriend. The character balances between strong independent woman and unexperienced teenager very well. Most side characters are a bit odd or overdrawn, but that’s part of the fun. Of course it’s a simple story with simple morals, but if you love any of the other movies I mentioned, but haven’t seen Pretty in Pink yet, I can highly recommend it. You won’t be wasting your lip-gloss at any time.