So EVERYBODY knows who “Jake Ryan” is… I won’t even dignify it with an answer.
But who is “Blane McDonough”? …
Blane is the guy from “Pretty in Pink”…
Remember- “Blane”… (Andrew McCarthy).
Yeah, I know. I had to look up Blane’s last name on Wikipedia… I didn’t even remember it.
Which brings me to my topic today; it’s a topic for the ages-
“Sixteen Candles“ vs. “Pretty In Pink.”
Which one is the better movie?
Before I make my argument,
I must tell you why I’m taking valuable time from my life to even write this…
A while back I read an interesting article in Vanity Fair on John Hughes, the creator of both films, and then I just read a blog post on Culture Brats, that I found via StumbleUpon, (I know, I can’t believe I’m being so “social media-savvy” either) that discusses this very topic. Karma? Or maybe I just have Sixteen Candles on the brain right now?
Anyway, while the blog post on Culture Brats was extremely well thought out,
and I respect both sides of the argument…
It really comes down to one question:
Jake Ryan vs. Blane McDonough
and is there seriously anyone out there who can make a good argument for Blane ?
“Anyone… Anyone?” (to quote from another John Hughes movie, Ferris Buellar’s Day Off)
Jake Ryan was cool and and popular and a dreamboat… and kind and honest and liked a girl for the whole package- what was inside and out.
Who didn’t daydream about Jake Ryan? I did. And I’m not the daydreamer type.
Did you ever, honestly, pine over Blane? We was a wimp; he only stood up for himself and “his girl” at the very end of the movie… and he seems kinda-boring!
Who would you want to date- Jake! or Blane...
“Blane” doesn’t even sound cool in comparison to “Jake!”
To quote from another great movie, “The Sure Thing” from 1985 (substituting “Jake” for “Nick”)-
“Yeah, Jake. Jake’s a real name. Jake’s your buddy. Jake’s the kind of guy you can trust, the kind of guy you can drink a beer with, the kind of guy who doesn’t mind if you puke in his car, Jake!”
And what about Farmer Ted (Anthony Michael Hall) vs. Duckie (Jon Cryer)?
Farmer Ted totally wins! I’d kinda wanna be friends with Farmer Ted. He’s a nice guy, basically. He’s actually a “cool geek.” And most importantly, he doesn’t get Samantha, but he recovers and isn’t pining over her.
But to get back to Jake Ryan, because he’s dreamy-
Jake still holds up today! I’d date Jake (if I were single) right now, wearing exactly what he wore back then. Blane and his friends in linen pants and linen blazers?! That didn’t even look good back in the “80’s” !! And the story! That still holds up too! In fact, I said in my Movie Review of “Twilight,”
“Teen angst, first love, plus vampires thrown in… and they are good vampires- are you kidding me?”
This movie is 16 CANDLES and Jake Ryan is a cool vampire.
So there you have it: Proof that Sixteen Candles wins over Pretty in Pink and thus,
Jake Ryan wins over Blane… whatever his last name is
But we already knew that, didn’t we :)
What do you think?
When Nicole is thinking about ’80 movies, she likes to concentrate on the good stuff over at her blog.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I totally see the value of Jake Ryan. He’s super hot and has a rad car and awesome pad to party in, BUT Blane rocked my world. That kiss between Andy and Blane in the parking lot with the lights from his car shining on them? I dreamed of a kiss like that for eons. My best friend and I swooned over that kiss for decades it seemed. Blane all the way!
I think the movies were trying to do different things. 16 Candles is really a comedy with a touching coming-of-age/unrequited love element to it, while Pretty in Pink at least attempted seriousness by bringing class and wealth into it. So it’s hard to compare the two movies on their own. 16 Candles will always be the pinnacle teen movie for me, and Jake Ryan the dream boy. That kiss at the end – well, that did for me what Blane did for Vicky. I am an Andrew McCarthy fan, so I don’t want to diss him, but I liked him better in St. Elmo’s Fire than in Pretty in Pink. Also, some background on the making of Pretty in Pink – the original ending had Andie with Duckie instead of Blaine. Audiences didn’t like it, so they filmed a new ending with her ending up with Blaine. I always think of that now – that the Blaine kiss isn’t what John Hughes originally intended, and that has sort of detracted from the movie for me,
16 Candles is one of my favorite movies of all time, and it holds up well. I saw it again on the big screen earlier this year, when it was released for the 25th anniversary. It was just as funny, touching, and sweet as it was in the 80s.
Frankly, I never understood the fuss over Pretty in Pink.