Critic's Grade: B+

"Pretty in Pink" recalls the glory days of the teen movie when the genre actually treated its characters with respect. Far from the clutches of jokes concerning semen and the female genitalia that have come to dominate movies like "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" and dozens of other trash flicks, John Hughes' screenplay and the direction of Howard Deutch manage to give this not-so-unique slice of growing pains a not-so-familiar zing.

The film stars 80's teen queen Molly Ringwald as Andie, a working-class high school senior who seems content with her lifestyle (she makes her own very smashing clothes, and shares a warm relationship with her father, played by Harry Dean Stanton), but like so many of us, she sometimes finds herself wishing for something more. Her wish is seemingly granted when she is approached by Blane (Andrew McCarthy), an upscale senior who at once finds her quite appealing and doesn't give a hoot about her place in society. In what will no doubt appear in today's world as a routine series of events, boy and girl date, social differences come into play and threaten their relationship, the whole will-they-end-up-together question finds itself a contender, etc.

But what so many people who revisit movies like this don't understand is that "Pretty in Pink," like so many 80's teen movies, were the basis for the onslaught of 90's films that include "She's All That" and various others too numerous to name. The standard boy-meets-girl plot with the variances in social classes has been done so many times it's almost gag-inducing, but this early feature, with its endearing cast, the incredible chemistry between its two love-sick leads, and the absence of all things gross-out (Can you really envision Andie playing a musical instrument that she later uses for phallic purposes?), managed to make what seemed old fresh and vital.

The cast for the film remains as phenomenal as it was in 1986. Ringwald and McCarthy make a very viable onscreen couple, embodying their characters with convincing emotions and real feeling. Jon Cryer as Ringwald's obsessed best friend, and Annie Potts as the voice of wisdom in her life, both give terrific performances full of wit and humor, and Stanton is exactly what a father figure should be. The production of the movie is pure 80's charisma and zest, and anyone looking for a quick era fix couldn't make a better choice. Far from perfect but far more memorable than recent efforts, "Pretty in Pink" is a charming and refreshing look at that special period in everyone's life where growing up really is hard to do.

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