John Hughes died yesterday. He leaves behind millions of children, now grown up, and all the better for having known his films. Hughes of course, was more than just a guy who made movies for teens. Trains, Planes, and Automobiles is still the best thing ever done by either Steve Martin or John Candy, but Hughes will always be best remembered for the films he did about growing up. John's work in movies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and heck even Ferris Bueller's Day Off connected with an entire generation in a way that hasn't really been duplicated since. He did it by, by breaking down the veneer of high school stereotypes and by refusing to talk down to us. His films connect because they speak to kids as if they're adults. They're never watered down to pander to a specific demographic or latch on to the latest trend. Because of that they're timeless, they're ageless, and they meant something to the kids who grew up with his characters rattling around in their head.
Hughes directed his last movie in 1991 and the world hasn't been the same since. More movies than ever are created with teens in mind, but almost none of them achieve the cultural significance that Hughes' work did. Dozens of movies like I Love You Beth Cooper flop their way into the box office every year, but whether they make money or not, they're only momentary diversions. Hollywood's ever growing bumper crop of teen focused films continually make all the mistakes that Hughes' movies didn't. It's an endless sea of pandering, without a real voice to stand out in the crowd.
As long as Hughes was alive, there was always the faint hope that he might come out of retirement and save our kids from a lifeless sea of brain dead, empty movies. But now he's gone and we're on our own. Without John Hughes it's up to someone else to take on his mantle, to stand up and give our kids something to connect with, something to believe in. Someone to tell them it's ok to be weird, it's ok if you don't get the girl, it's ok to stand out in a crowd. There's hope. Here's a look at just a few filmmakers who could, if given the chance, take up where John Hughes left off. They'll never replace him, but cinema desperately needs someone to follow him:
Judd Apatow gets all the credit, but it's actually Paul Feig who was in large part responsible for Freaks & Geeks, the best television show of the past twenty years. The series was right in John Hughes' wheelhouse, a realistic show about different types of kids growing up and dealing with life. It's set in the 80s but like Hughes' movies it could have happened at any time. The themes the show tackled were timeless and Feig's writing was spot on. It never pandered or watered itself down to suit a certain audience. It was, without question, brilliant. Feig has since gone on to work on television shows like Arrested Development and his foray into similarly themed films, Unaccompanied Minors wasn't exactly a stellar success. Still, it's impossible to watch Freaks & Geeks and not see incredible potential there. Feig deserves another shot at capturing the magic we all know he has somewhere inside him.
Peter Sollett
Peter Sollett is the mind behind Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and the highly touted 2003 film Raising Victor Vargas. Both attempt to tackle the problems of teenagers, but from different angles. Raising Victor Vargas is a more grounded indie movie about a boy growing up in an immigrant community while Nick & Norah captures the essence of one crazy night in which teenagers drink and make their way through Manhattan talking about their favorite bands and falling in love. Two very different visions of what growing up is like, one a gritty reality, the other more a suburban teen fantasy, but both with the potential to connect in a very real way with younger audiences. Sollett gets growing up and given a little time could easily be the right guy to carry on Hughes' legacy.
Luke Greenfield
Greenfield's last feature film was a 2004 movie called The Girl Next Door. Though it initially flopped in theaters the film found a second life on DVD and deserved it. It's the story of a teenage boy who falls in love with the girl next door, a girl who just happens to be a porn star. In over his head he struggles with new experiences and falling in love, and it's the closest thing to John Hughes since Hughes stopped making movies. It could easily have been written and directed by John himself, it hits all the right notes and captures just the right vibe of raunch and well chosen sweetness. Even though it's the story of a teenager in extraordinary circumstances, the film's protagonist remains a kid and seems to get what being a kid in love is all about. Greenfield's been relegated to the most boring corners of television since the film's box office failure, but Hollywood needs him back.
Greg Mottola
Of all the filmmakers with a shot to fill Hughes' shoes, Mottola is the only one that's already had success at it. In 2007 he unleashed Superbad, a raunchy mix of honesty and comedy set in an occasionally realistic world of high school, binge drinking, and unwanted virginity. This year he got a little older with Adventureland and told the story of college kids lost in a summer spent working at an amusement park, but even though the film's characters are older they could have just as easily been teenagers whom the younger crowd can identify with. Whatever the age of the kids in the stories he's telling, Mottola works hard at connecting with his mostly teenage audience in a real way, without talking down to them. John Hughes would be proud.
Jonathan Levine
Levine is the man behind The Wackness, a big hit at Sundance back in 2008 which, despite a blogger campaign to get it noticed, never really made its way into the public consciousness. The film is focused entirely on teenage life in the 90s and almost effortlessly captures the essence of what life was about for any kid growing up surrounded by fly girls and the burgeoning rap scene. Levine's characters deal with sex and drugs and first relationships in a way that's both funny and true. Speaking plainly about the pains of growing up is something Levine seems comfortable with, no matter what the genre. Buried in a closet somewhere is All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, a horror movie about a high school girl who suddenly gets hot over one summer and finds herself at a secluded party where people start disappearing. Levine gets teens and if we're lucky, he'll keep exploring the Hughesian genre until someone finally wakes up and takes notice.
