Top Five John Hughes Films

If you asked someone old enough to name the best films of the 80s, you would very likely hear names like Ghostbusters and Back to the Future, but I'm confident a majority of the John Hughes filmography would be mentioned too. When I say that, I'm only counting the films he actually directed as well as wrote, rather than the far greater number for which he has only a writing credit. That only leaves eight films, but nonetheless, for many, his films define 80s cinema, especially if you grew up in that decade as I did. Here are my pics for his finest efforts:

5. Sixteen Candles (1984)

I suspect many had a bit of a thing for teen hottie Molly Ringwald in the 80s and this was the first of her 'big three' releases in successive years, but I was only seeing it for the first time here. She stars as Sam Baker who is hoping for big things following her imminent 16th birthday, only to find her family all forgot about it! They are a little preoccupied with her older sister's wedding the day after but even so! Aside from that there isn't too much of a story though. She goes to school as normal where she gossips with her friend, crushes on senior Jake (Michael Schoeffling), gets chased around by geek Ted (Anthony Michael Hall), goes to a school dance, etc. There isn't much more to it really, it's kind of a 'slice of life' 80s high school comedy that happens to take place on and just after the main character's birthday. It's possibly most famous these days for Long Duk Dong (Gedde Watanabe), a foreign exchange student whose racially-stereotyped scenes are, frankly, not very funny, but I enjoyed most of the rest of it. Ringwald and Hall are great and share some nice scenes, and the general 80s-ness is wonderful too. Not sure Sam should've given up her panties so readily though - lord only knows what ends up being done to/with them...

4. Uncle Buck (1989)

The most recent film in this list is remembered very fondly today as one of the great John Candy's best, and how could it not be? When Bob and Cindy Russell have to rush to Indianapolis due to a family issue, their only option for taking care of their three children is Bob's brother Buck, which Cindy isn't keen on as she considers Buck unreliable and a bad influence, and when we first meet him, it seems her concerns may be justified too, as he's a heavy drinker and smoker, and a bit of a lazy, irresponsible slob. The younger kids take to him though, leaving only bratty teen Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly) to be the pain in Buck's ass, but his unorthodox (often intrusive) methods seem to do the trick anyway, as well as making us all laugh. It's a role that plays to Candy's strengths and there are a lot of funny and memorable scenes, perhaps none more so than the one in the still right here! I don't think many would consider it the best Hughes film, and it is stylistically a little different to his other efforts, but it's definitely a funny, heartwarming and rewatchable offering.

3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Even though my dad and sister had both been fans of this iconic film since its release, I didn't even see it until I bought it on DVD many years later for some reason. As I soon learnt, the titular day off was an unauthorised one off school for Ferris (Matthew Broderick), his girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara), and his best bud Cameron (Alan Ruck). It's Mr. Bueller the school dean, Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), takes the most interest in, having grown weary of his tomfoolery, and decides to irresponsibly neglect his educational duties in favour of trying to catch his nemesis who, along with Sloane and Cameron, is swanning around Chicago in Cameron's dad's priceless Ferrari wasting their precious day off at baseball games, art galleries, and parades. Their amusing/idiotic escapades are all good fun when you're a young scallywag, but as an adult I can't help but feel bad for Cameron's dad! Watching the film for the first time as an old codger does mean it may have lost a little of its impact on me accordingly though, of course, but it was still easy to see why it was so popular - the characters are all appealing and there are some great sequences. Top drawer 80s-ness.

2. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

I believe many would consider this apparent 'Thanksgiving film' both Steve Martin and John Candy's best as well as one of the best roadtrip movies, and it's very nearly John Hughes' best film as well. It had such a simple premise too - take one uptight businessman in a rush to get from New York to his home in Chicago for Thanksgiving, add a blizzard that diverts his flight to Kansas, and combine the whole trip with a good-hearted but very annoying oaf who makes the shared, chaotic trip back to Chicago unbearable. Simple it may be but it required the two perfect actors for the respective roles and Hughes struck gold with Martin and Candy who have possibly never been better, and probably also haven't been in such an enjoyable, funny and touching film as this one which is also, I believe, the only Hughes film to not feature at least one teenager in a starring role! I'm not American so I don't give a crap about Thanksgiving, but luckily I don't need a special day to watch this corking film.

1. The Breakfast Club (1985)

I'm confident in saying this was the first Hughes film I ever saw and I've seen it many more times over the years. I can't imagine there are many people around my age or older who didn't see it at the time, and it has of course gone on to become as genuine an '80s Classic' as any other film from that magical decade. I'd imagine it has served as inspiration for many aspiring filmmakers over the years too - it's an even simpler concept than the previous film on this list, not to mention a far more inexpensive one - five very different kids (athlete, criminal, princess, weirdo, nerd) spending their Saturday in detention. That's it! Most of it is filmed in one room and, besides the teacher and janitor, features only the five kids themselves. It should be a boring, quickly-forgotten film but it turned out to be about as far from that as possible thanks to perfect casting, a great soundtrack (especially over the memorable final shot and closing credits), and a wonderful screenplay which has humour, heart, and gives viewers of any age plenty to digest. An immersive and timeless film which is not only Hughes' best but also one of the best of the decade, perhaps even all-time.