The story itself is fairly predictable - the rich, good looking guy who's a manipulative jerk is going out with the school's hottest chick, while on the other side of the tracks, a loner works as a mechanic and hangs out with a tomboy who finds it hard to hide her feelings about him. It all plays out in a fairly realistic high school setting, as writer John Hughes explores teenage angst once again in a milieu he's come to be identified with. What's different about this story, and it's kind of refreshing, is that the teens aren't hopping in and out of bed with each other, and wind up going through some personal self analysis before they rearrange their relationships to ones that make sense.
Watching this film some three decades after it's original release, and with all the emphasis in the current culture on equality between the sexes, it was somewhat jarring to hear egomaniac Hardy (Craig Sheffer) refer to Amanda (Lea Thompson) as his 'property'. I know there are guys who think like that but to actually hear him say it was more than enough to merit a trashing. I thought all the principal players did a fine job in their roles, with Mary Stuart Masterson particularly effective as the overlooked tomboy who's patience and integrity is rewarded in the end.
One thing about the closing credits puzzled me, in as much as the would-be bully who turned out to be Keith Nelson's (Eric Stoltz) friend had the name of Duncan, but the name that appeared in the credits was 'Skinhead', and his pals were referred to as Skinhead's friends. I think it's the first time I've seen a corrected credit here on IMDb that doesn't reference the actor's character as it appeared in a movie's credited cast list.
Watching this film some three decades after it's original release, and with all the emphasis in the current culture on equality between the sexes, it was somewhat jarring to hear egomaniac Hardy (Craig Sheffer) refer to Amanda (Lea Thompson) as his 'property'. I know there are guys who think like that but to actually hear him say it was more than enough to merit a trashing. I thought all the principal players did a fine job in their roles, with Mary Stuart Masterson particularly effective as the overlooked tomboy who's patience and integrity is rewarded in the end.
One thing about the closing credits puzzled me, in as much as the would-be bully who turned out to be Keith Nelson's (Eric Stoltz) friend had the name of Duncan, but the name that appeared in the credits was 'Skinhead', and his pals were referred to as Skinhead's friends. I think it's the first time I've seen a corrected credit here on IMDb that doesn't reference the actor's character as it appeared in a movie's credited cast list.