Although John Hughes didn't direct this film, his steady hand is evident all throughout in this much more serious story about a poor girl and a rich guy who want to be together despite all odds against them. Despite the more serious tone of this movie, it still has some funny and touching scenes, most of them featuring Duckie, the best friend of Andie and perhaps the man that truly loves her. However, she has her heart set on Blane, the rich preppie who claims he doesn't act like his snobbish friends do but it is hard to tell at times.
What makes this movie so great is how it is willing to treat all these kids as adults in real situations and real emotions. The acting accentuates these overtones with Molly Ringwald in perhaps her most sophisticated role, Jon Cryer as the lovable Duckie, Andrew McCarthy as Blane, and James Spader in a perfectly devilish role as Steff, the worst of the bunch by so smooth and relentless, it is hard not to be impressed by him. All in all, this is one of the better 1980s teen movies and one that I think people will remember more fondly as it isn't so overtly unique that people can relate to the characters and feel for them. Unfortunately, it was essentially the end of the Molly Ringwald-era, but her memory in these three Hughes movies will always stay with us.
