As John Hughes’ Films Face Criticism, ‘Love, Simon’ Marks a New Era For Teen Movies

For decades, John Hughes’ six-movie run between 1984 and 1987 was the gold standard of teen-centric high school films including “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and “Some Kind of Wonderful.” Hughes didn’t direct all of those films, but was sole screenwriter on each — enough to stamp them in the cultural consciousness as “John Hughes films,” a term that became synonymous with the teen cinematic experience.Save for perhaps “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” which centers on a kid who is literally too cool for school, Hughes’ work centered on characters who were “other.” That’s also proved to be a saving grace in reexamining Hughes’ work.

His ’80s-era muse, Molly Ringwald, recently wrote an essay for The New Yorker that explored her relationship with his films from her 2018 perspective.What she unearthed was well-considered and thoughtful, and it forced both her and her

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