SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1987)
Tagline: Before they could stand together, they had to stand alone.
(Drama, Romance, Keith's Got Some Decisions To Make) [PG-13]
Keith... you're losing it. And when it's lost, all you are is a loser.
Keith... you're losing it. And when it's lost, all you are is a loser.
Somewhere in the long line of John Hughes projects this
movie came out. I remember 1987 pretty well, but I never ended up seeing it
until now. This movie centers around Keith Nelson (played by Eric Stoltz
probably best known for his role in MASK, but he’s been in a ton of stuff). Keith
has a tomboy friend named Watts, because Hughes must have used every female name,
so he started using electrical measurements for names. They do pretty much
everything together, but now Keith is kind of looking to branch out of his artistic
mind and start dating. He doesn’t only want to date, he wants to date the girl
everyone thinks is the most popular girl in school Amanda Jones (played by Lea
Thompson, Marty McFly’s mom). She is so popular that the movie literally has
songs playing about her in the background at some points.
With typical 80’s flair, this movie comes complete with a
bully given so much school power he basically controls people with his bad
attitude. Amanda is into him, but she knows he’s a jerk and wants to piss him
off using Keith’s innocent pursuit of a relationship to do it. Meanwhile, it’s
pretty obvious early in the movie that Watts (played by Mary Stuart Masterson) is in
love with Keith, so we have a bit of a mess here.
Overall this thing is well written and well-cast. However, there are some really stupid lines in this thing that are just complete fabrications. I know because I was in high school in the 80's. Stuff like "Well, I like art, I work in a gas station, my best friend is a tomboy. These things don't fly too well in the American high school" just simply wasn't a thing. You could show up at school with a rabbit on a leash and no one would give a crap. It was literally the age where no one cared. We had chicks in my class wearing pajamas to school with Mad Hatter-looking hats. We had artsy dudes wearing paint cans with eye holes on their heads hanging out with goth chicks. No one cared.
The 3 main characters still have really nice careers going for themselves to this day (even Keith’s sister played by Maddie Corman is still in the game). After a few viewings of this one, I could get into the head of Watts a bit better and actually found myself understanding the emotions she must have been going through. Outside of that, this is worth a watch as an “almost classic” from the 80’s catalog of teen angst archives. I don't know if it's as good as THE BREAKFAST CLUB, SAY ANYTHING, PRETTY IN PINK, or even CAN’T BUY ME LOVE, but it is still very solid. It also has a decent soundtrack which adds to the appeal.
Overall this thing is well written and well-cast. However, there are some really stupid lines in this thing that are just complete fabrications. I know because I was in high school in the 80's. Stuff like "Well, I like art, I work in a gas station, my best friend is a tomboy. These things don't fly too well in the American high school" just simply wasn't a thing. You could show up at school with a rabbit on a leash and no one would give a crap. It was literally the age where no one cared. We had chicks in my class wearing pajamas to school with Mad Hatter-looking hats. We had artsy dudes wearing paint cans with eye holes on their heads hanging out with goth chicks. No one cared.
The 3 main characters still have really nice careers going for themselves to this day (even Keith’s sister played by Maddie Corman is still in the game). After a few viewings of this one, I could get into the head of Watts a bit better and actually found myself understanding the emotions she must have been going through. Outside of that, this is worth a watch as an “almost classic” from the 80’s catalog of teen angst archives. I don't know if it's as good as THE BREAKFAST CLUB, SAY ANYTHING, PRETTY IN PINK, or even CAN’T BUY ME LOVE, but it is still very solid. It also has a decent soundtrack which adds to the appeal.
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