John Hughes

Director Case Study

Biographyo Born on the 18th February 1950 in Lansing, Michigan (USA)o Famous for scripting and directing some of the most successful

comedies in the 1980s and early 1990s such as “Sixteen Candles”, “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”.

o Known for his work on ‘Coming of Age’ films (even though he tried to avoid being stereotyped as a maker of teen movies)

o Helped launch the careers of various members of the ‘Brat Pack’ (e.g. Matthew Broderick, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Macaulay Culkin)

o Died August 6th 2009 from a severe heart attack.

Directing Careero Sixteen Candles (1984) – A coming of age film, starring Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael

Hall, about a girl who faces every level of embarrassment possible on her birthday.o The Breakfast Club (1985) – Starring Emilio Estevez and Molly Ringwald, The Breakfast Club is

a coming of age film about five students from different cliques who meet at a Saturday detention to discover that they have a lot more in common than they thought.

o Weird Science (1985) – A rom-com aimed at the teenage demographic. This film stars Anthony Michael Hall and is about two high school nerds who attempt to create the perfect woman.

o Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) – A coming of age comedy, starring Matthew Broderick, is about a high school wise guy who is determined to have a day off, despite what his elder sister and principle think. This film found itself to be very popular with teens aged 13-19.

o Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) – John Hughes attempt to avoid being stereotyped as a maker of teen films. Starring Steve Martin, this comedy tells a story of a man who attempts to return home for thanksgiving with an obnoxious slob as his only companion.

o She’s Having A Baby (1988) – A film about a couple who try to cope with married life and what is expected of them by their parents. Whilst aimed at a target audience that is slightly older than the teenage demographic, the film follows a similar pattern to a coming of age film. Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern star in this film.

o Uncle Buck (1989) – Starring John Candy and Macaulay Culkin, this film tells a story of bachelor and all round slob, Buck, who babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister. This film is another attempt by Joh Hughes to avoid being stereotyped as a teen film maker. It’s also aimed at families rather than the teenage demographic as well.

o Curly Sue (1991) – Another film aimed at the family demographic and John Hughes’ final attempt at directing. Starring Kelly Lynch and James Belushi, this film tells the story of how a homeless man and his young companion, who survive by conning people, meet a woman who may need them even more than they need her.

Narrativeso Famous for portraying teenagers as real human beings and steering away from the

typical use of stereotypes. He was also extremely good at characterisation and managed to create teenage characters with more emotional depth than ever before.

o Hughes used stereotypes as a starting point, not a lazy shorthand. Many of his teenage films (such us The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles) were about teenagers defying their own stereotypes, breaking out of the moulds society has placed on them. This theme can also be seen in some of his other works as well (e.g. Uncle Buck and Plains, Trains and Automobiles.)

o Many of his films were set around the Chicago area. Hughes actually lived in a suburb near Chicago which led to him using this area as the setting in the majority of his films.

o A key element in most of his films was relationship issues between the protagonist and their family (usually shown through a teens vs parents relationship) which usually results in them realising how much the love and depend on each other.

o The majority of John Hughes films deal with a range of serious topic (divorce, bullying etc.) but use comedy to captivate their target audiences attention whilst allowing them to understand the morals of the stories.

o Anthony Michael Hall once said that teenagers were more likely to favour Hughes films because, “They’ll respond to a film about teenagers as people. Both of these movies are about the beauty of just growing up. I think teenage girls are especially ready for this kind of movie, after being grossed out by all the sex and violence in most teenage movies.”

Casting Choiceso One thing that Hughes is famous for is helping to launch the careers of

numerous actors such as Michael Keaton, Molly Ringwald, Matthew Broderick, Anthony Michael Hall, Bill Paxton, Macaulay Culkin and other members from ‘The Brat Pack’ - a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s.

Styleo Lots of his films have an extra scene after the credits. For example, in Ferris

Bueller’s Day Off, Mr Rooney is seen climbing onto a school bus after failing at trying to prove that Ferris was not sick.

o Hughes was a massive fan of The Beatles and use their songs in a number of his films. In ‘The Geek’ Anthony Michael Hall’s character sings "Birthday" and Matthew Broderick sings "Twist & Shout" in ‘Ferris Bueller's Day Off’.

o His films often end with a still image so as to mark the moment.

o Often uses characters that are either stuck in one place ortraveling somewhere.

o Uses high or low-key lighting to set the mood and atmosphere of the scene and to reflect the mood of the characters.

o Uses mise-en-scene to symbolise Hughes’ hidden meanings in his films (e.g. psychological theories written on a black-board in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’)

o The characters in John Hughes films often break the fourth wall. This allows for them to directly address the audience and adds comedic effect (Ferris often talks to the audience in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’)