Don't You Forget About Me

The bad news about Don't You Forget About Me is, there is nothing new to offer the serious John Hughes fan. Oh, there are interviews with people, some of whom we haven't heard from. But there's nothing especially revelatory in the documentary.

The good news about Don't You Forget About Me is, it is an endlessly compelling viewing experience. Those of us that have been moved, swayed, and changed by the movies can watch clips and hear people talking about them endlessly.

Another good thing about Don't You Forget About Me is the obvious sincerity of the filmmakers. These people love the movies of John Hughes and the entire production is a labor of love. A valentine not only to the fans of John Hughes, but also to Hughes himself.

A group of young filmmakers set out to make a documentary about a man whose work they cherish. For two years they assemble interviews. Not only with the cast and crews of the films, but also with other filmmakers that have been inspired by Hughes (Kevin Smith, Jason Reitman, and the guys that made Napoleon Dynamite). They also talk with numerous people who have been affected by The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful. Mostly it's with young viewers that are unhappy with the movies that are supposed to represent their generation.

Don't You Forget About Me also shows the critical drubbing that most John Hughes films received at the time of their releases. I sort of remembered it, but I forgot how cruelly dismissive some of them were. Roger Ebert is one of the few who were aware how smart and important the John Hughes films were. Roger's late reviewing partner, Gene Siskel, was among the dissenters. About Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Siskel said for having such a heralded day off, Bueller "doesn't do anything fun". And "when he makes eye contact with the viewer, he has nothing interesting to say". Talk about missing the boat. Well, I always liked Ebert better, anyway.

Oh, and there's a brief interview with Danny Elfman's brother Richard, who is incorrectly identified as the singer of Oingo Boingo. Ouch.

After the interviews are done, the filmmakers take a trip to try to find their subject. They wish to honor him by letting him know how many people have been moved by his movies. They want to personally thank him. And they, like so many of us, wish he would return to filmmaking.

I won't disclose how it all turns out, but they do track down the home of John Hughes. But what they end up with only adds more to the mystery of why such an important and beloved filmmaker disappeared from the movie industry and public eye.

As everyone that cares now knows, John Hughes passed away on August 6th, 2009. A legion of fans mourned. Hughes was never to come back with more films for his fans.

Or will he? There is a very slight silver lining to this dark cloud. A handful of scripts by Hughes reportedly exists and one, called Grisby's Go Broke, is currently in preproduction. Will the magic be in there? Time will tell, but I and many others have high hopes.

As for Don't You Forget About Me: The Movie, fans need to own it. Don't rent a copy. This is one you'll want to revisit over and over again. Right now it's not available in the United States, but there is a Canadian DVD. You should be able to find one for a reasonable price at Amazon or Ebay. That's what I did.