Some Kind of Wonderful (film)

Some Kind of Wonderful is a 1987 American teen romantic comedy-drama film directed by Howard Deutch and starring Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Lea Thompson. It is one of several successful teen dramas written by John Hughes in the 1980s.

Blue-collar teen Keith goes out with the popular Amanda, a girl he's always dreamed of dating. Her ex-boyfriend plots revenge on him, while Keith's tomboy best friend Watts realizes she has feelings for Keith.

The film had its premiere in Hollywood on February 23, 1987 and widely released theatrically in the United States on February 27, 1987.

Plot
The film is set against the strict social hierarchy of an American public high school in the San Fernando Valley. Blue-collar mechanic and aspiring artist Keith Nelson is best friends with tomboy drummer Watts. Keith's father, Cliff, is obsessed with sending him to college for business, as he would be the first in their family to go.

Keith is enamored with Amanda Jones, one of the most popular girls in school, and he spends much of his time drawing her. She is dating Hardy Jenns, a spoiled and selfish boy from a wealthy neighborhood. However, Amanda herself is not wealthy: she lives in the same working-class district as Watts and Keith, and she borrows her fashionable clothes from her friends. Hardy treats Amanda as his "property" while also fooling around with another girl.

Watts is dismissive of Keith's crush, saying that he and Amanda are too different. Hearing that Amanda will be in detention for the foreseeable future, Keith gets himself in trouble to spend time with her. However, she talks her way out of it, and he is stuck with the school criminals, eventually making friends with troublemaker Duncan.

When Amanda breaks up with Hardy, Keith asks her out. Mainly to spite Hardy, Amanda accepts. Meanwhile, seeing them together makes Watts realize that she loves Keith as more than just a friend. She pretends to like another boy to try and make Keith jealous, and she continues to discourage him from being with Amanda, to no avail. Keith's popularity around school begins to increase once word spreads of his upcoming date with Amanda, whereas Amanda's popularity quickly declines.

Hardy plots trouble for Keith by inviting him and Amanda to a party after their date, where he plans to have him beaten up. Through his sister Laura, Keith finds out about the scheme and believes Amanda is a part of it. He decides to go to the party anyway and face Hardy.

Amanda's wealthy and popular friends start to shun her for being with Keith, and he tries to plan the perfect date to prove he is worthy of Amanda. With Watts in tow, he uses his college money to buy a pair of diamond earrings, rent an expensive car, and take Amanda to a posh restaurant. Watts tells him that she will appreciate a good kisser, so she kisses Keith under the guise of teaching him how to do it. Still, Keith is oblivious to her attraction to him. When Cliff discovers the college fund has been emptied, he is livid, but Keith ultimately convinces his father to respect his right to make his own decisions.

On the night of the date, Keith picks up Amanda, with Watts serving as their chauffeur. They go to an expensive restaurant for dinner, however they initially argue. Then, Keith brings Amanda to an art museum and shows her a painting he did of her. He gives her the earrings, and they kiss while Watts watches them from a distance.

Finally, they go to Hardy's party. Keith is about to get beaten by Hardy's friends when Duncan and his school buddies arrive to help him. Hardy tries to talk his way out of the predicament, exposing himself as a coward in front of the party guests. Amused, Keith tells him he is "over," after which Amanda slaps Hardy twice.

After they leave the party, Watts apologizes to Amanda. Watts then leaves them and starts to walk home in tears. Amanda suddenly realizes that Keith and Watts have feelings for each other. She gives the earrings back to Keith and urges him to go after Watts.

Keith, realizing that he is in love with his best friend, bids Amanda goodbye. He catches up to Watts, and they kiss. He then gives the earrings to her. She’s delighted and admits that she wanted them. When she puts them on and asks Keith how they look, he replies, "You look good wearing my future."

Cast

 * Eric Stoltz as Keith Nelson
 * Mary Stuart Masterson as Watts
 * Lea Thompson as Amanda Jones
 * Craig Sheffer as Hardy Jenns
 * John Ashton as Cliff Nelson
 * Elias Koteas as Duncan
 * Molly Hagan as Shayne
 * Maddie Corman as Laura Nelson
 * Jane Elliot as Carol Nelson
 * Candace Cameron as Cindy Nelson
 * Chynna Phillips as Mia
 * Scott Coffey as Ray
 * Carmine Caridi as Museum Guard
 * Lee Garlington as Mrs. Albright

Production
Deutch and Hughes were not happy with the ending of their previous collaboration Pretty in Pink (1986); in the script and the original cut of the film Andy (Molly Ringwald) wound up with her best friend Duckie (Jon Cryer). Test audiences disliked that ending, however, so a new ending was shot where Andy wound up with Blane (Andrew McCarthy).

With Some Kind of Wonderful, Hughes decided to re-tell the story, but with the genders of the main characters switched. Hughes named the three main protagonists—Keith, Watts, and Amanda Jones—as an inside-joke tribute to the Rolling Stones (Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and the Stones' song "Miss Amanda Jones", respectively). Hughes wanted Ringwald to play the female lead role of Watts, but she declined in order to pursue more adult roles; she also thought the character of Amanda seemed too similar to the character she played in The Breakfast Club. Hughes took this refusal personally, and it led to the end of Hughes and Ringwald's working relationship.

Martha Coolidge was signed to direct Some Kind of Wonderful. Mary Stuart Masterson was cast as Watts. In addition to Masterson, Coolidge cast Eric Stoltz as Keith. Coolidge's vision of the film, which was darker than the eventual product, attracted Stoltz to the role.

Unhappy with Coolidge, Hughes fired her and hired Deutch to direct. Original cast members Kim Delaney (Amanda Jones) and Kyle MacLachlan (Hardy Jenns) were fired shortly after. Deutch offered Lea Thompson the role of Amanda, but she initially turned him down. However, after the Thompson-starring Howard the Duck flopped at the box office, she accepted a second offer to take the role. Deutch and Thompson started dating after filming was completed, and they got married in 1989.

This film would have marked a third collaboration of both Eric Stoltz and Lea Thompson, the first being The Wild Life (1984), and the second being Back to the Future (1985), where both Stoltz and Thompson had been cast, but just five weeks into filming Back to the Future, Stoltz was let go from the production and replaced with Michael J. Fox, while Thompson stayed on.

This film was shot in Los Angeles in the summer of 1986. Locations include San Pedro High School, Hancock Park, and the Hollywood Bowl.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 76% based on 45 reviews, with the site's consensus: "Some Kind of Wonderful is above-average '80s teen fare for people who need as much John Hughes in their lives as possible." On Metacritic the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on a scale of A to F.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film, calling it worthwhile and entertaining. Janet Maslin of The New York Times stated that Some Kind of Wonderful is the "much-improved, recycled version of the Pretty in Pink story". Richard Schickel of Time criticized the film for being unrealistic. Masterson's performance was singled out for praise by several critics.

The film grossed $18.5 million at the box office.

Soundtrack

 * 1) "Do Anything" – Pete Shelley
 * 2) "Brilliant Mind" – Furniture
 * 3) "Cry Like This" – Blue Room
 * 4) "I Go Crazy" – Flesh for Lulu
 * 5) "She Loves Me" – Stephen Duffy
 * 6) "The Hardest Walk" – The Jesus and Mary Chain
 * 7) "The Shyest Time" – The Apartments
 * 8) "Miss Amanda Jones" – The March Violets
 * 9) "Can't Help Falling in Love" – Lick the Tins
 * 10) "Turn to the Sky" – The March Violets