Some Kind of Wonderful

Howard Deutsch – 1987 – USA

I never saw this movie in the 80s or any time since, so I approached it recently as a well-preserved artifact from the genre of 80s teen movies, which are a distinct source of nostalgia all their own now.  On the low end were the raunchy comedies that almost always concerned the need of someone to lose his or her virginity.  The high end, however, was staked out by John Hughes, who – in a matter of a mere four years – wrote, directed and/or produced a series of movies about middle-class high-school kids who were insecure and intelligent in equal measure.  The films genuinely resonated with adolescent girls who identified with these fables that mixed familiar social awkwardness with happy endings in which the unlikely girl bagged the dream guy.  Some Kind of Wonderful was pretty much the last of a cycle whose other key titles were Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) and Pretty in Pink (1986).  The familiar “brat pack” faces are missing this time around, but that’s kind of what I liked about it.  In the lead role of Keith, a quirky high-school student by day, garage mechanic by night, and artist in his heart, Eric Stoltz lends a bit more intensity and nuance than some of his more lightweight peers in such films; not a lot, but a bit.  In tried-and-true love-triangle tradition, Keith is so smitten with the elitist school beauty (Lea Thompson) that he fails to notice how obviously his tomboy best friend (Mary Stuart Masterson) is the perfect girl for him.  Yes, the clichés come fast and hard – as though Hughes and director Howard Deutsch were ticking them off a checklist – but they work; I’d say they merit eye-rolling at worst but are never vomit-inducing.  I know I’m not the first one to do this (far from it), but special mention has to be made of Elias Koteas as a skin-headed school bully.   He mercilessly steals every single shot he appears in.  It’s a great example of a strong, up-and-coming actor making the most of what was (on paper) a modest opportunity in a frothy teen rom-com.