You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation

by Susannah Gora

Book Overview

You can quote lines from Sixteen Candles ("Last night at the dancemy little brother paid a buck to see your underwear"), your iPod playlist includes more than one song by the Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds, you watch The Breakfast Club every time it comes on cable, and you still wish that Andie had ended up with Duckie in Pretty in Pink. You're a bonafide Brat Pack devotee--and you're not alone.

The films of the Brat...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307716600
• ISBN13: 9780307716606
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Lightening Fast Read!

The only flaw of this book is the unnecessary chapter on the abysmal "St. Elmos Fire." Gora collects some great information about Hughes, and throws in enough of her own personal insights into 80's and 90's to make this book a significant document of the 80's teen genre. This is not something I would expect from Premiere magazine.

John Hughes movies rule

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Susannah clearly has an enormous appreciation for John Hughes and his work as shown by the depth of her information. It was amazing to hear stories from the actors about things I had no idea about and found their insights throughly fascinating. The movies are timeless and although John Hughes is no longer with us (RIP) his work continues to live on through his fans and their love for his movies which represent a time and a place (the 80's) like no one else.

This book is just ducky!

Ok, sorry for the bad pun, but I couldn't resist, and it really is a great book. I'm a child of the 80's, so this book was especially interesting for me. I was surprised to learn that the term "Brat Pack" was actually meant in a derogatory way, it was the result of a mean spirited article in The New Yorker. At the time, I just thought it was a clever way to refer to young actors, just a play on words, because of the "Rat Pack." I was probably a naive kid, but I actually thought of it as a compliment. I could be wrong, but I don't think much of the general public knew of the article at the time, or had any negative feelings toward this talented bunch of actors. The internet wasn't around yet, and no one I knew read The New Yorker, but that article had a real and lasting impact on these actors. Hollywood producers knew about it, and the actors felt branded. It's a shame, because a lot of these actors were so talented, if that article really did have something to do with them not getting as much work as they should have, I would really like to punch the "journalist" that wrote it in the face! We lost out on decades of great performances because some hack writer was jealous (he admits as much in the book) of some young actors having a good time. This book goes into great detail about the creative process behind all of the John Hughes teen films from the 80's. It really is a treasure trove of information, we are let in on the casting process, who was considered for what turned out to be iconic roles (John Cusack as Bender! Anthony Michael Hall as Duckie! Molly Ringwald as Watts! And a real head scratcher, Rick Moranis as Carl the janitor, with a goofy Russian accent! Boy, we dodged a bullet on that last one!). If there's one thing I didn't like about the book, it's that I'll probably never be able to see John Hughes in quite the same way again. In many ways, he was an affable and charming man, but it also appears he could be petty and vindictive when he didn't get his way, unnecessarily so. But if that's what happened, it needed to be reported, warts and all. Even if he sold out to Hollywood in the 90's, and just produced lousy family films, his 80's work more than makes up for it. If there's still any lingering doubt about these actors because of that ridiculous article, I hope it can be put aside and these actors be given another chance. I, and I would wager, many gen X'rs would happily pay to see Molly Ringwald headlining a movie. I agree with what Ally Sheedy was quoted in the book as saying, "Hollywood is really missing the boat with me." So true Ally, so true.

Wow! it takes a lot to film a teenage movie.

This is my first book to deal with the process of writing a screenplay to completing the filming of the movie and of the interesting things that go on in between. After the first few pages, I realized that - being a 60's teenager rather than a 80's teenager - I needed to see these movies. I have been able to find most of the movies and have enjoyed them. I believe that Ms. Gora's love for this period and for these movies certainly shows in the way she has written her text and is evidenced by the list of her interviews and references. Apparently much work has gone into this book.

You can't ignore this great book!

A fascinating and interesting book! Susannah Gora gives us a wealth of information on all the 80's movies that we all loved. I was amazed at all the behind the scenes information that was gathered, as well as, the many, many interviews that Ms. Gora did with so many actors, producers, directors, etc. for all of the movies. She also gives a complete explanation on how the term "Brat Pack" came to be and the impact it had on many of these actors and actresses lives. If you are true movie buff of John Hughes and the 80's and early 90's teen films you will love this book. Ms. Gora has even given a thorough history on how many of the popular songs came to be a part of the movies we love. It will be a great nostalgic trip down memory lane for anyone who reads this book.