I was five minutes away from leaving for a camping trip when the news came through, and I thought I might have had enough time to write a few words.If you were a teenager in the 1980's, you were aware of John Hughes, whether it was from the films, or the people he made stars through his films, or the music on the soundtrack (and the radio). He spoke to that generation in a way no one else did. People felt he understood the children of the Eighties, respected them, even liked them.
And his films were fun. Fun, intelligent, romantic, clever, relevant, and funny.
The news says he went out for a walk and had a heart attack in the middle of it. He was fifty-nine. And fifty-nine does not seem that old. My parents are both older than that, and by the time Sting puts out another album (of actual music), I will probably be that old as well.
My friend Ian and I had several conversations about John Hughes, and felt his absence in teen entertainment of the Nineties and Ohs. We even made a short film our Senior year that was a tribute to John Hughes and our own bad luck with romance. We won a couple awards for it too.
It saddened me to hear of Hughes's untimely death, one of my all-time favorite* filmmakers. Why "untimely?" you may ask. Because I always hoped the man would write and direct again, and maybe bring more laughs and heart to the cinema, which often provides one, and just as often fails to provide the second.
I was a teenager in the 1980's. He will be missed.Rish Shermer Outfield
P.S. Let's not remember the man for BABY'S DAY OUT, okay?
*Yeah, I spelled it without a "u." As of today, I'm done with all that.
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