Overrated

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

An iconic teen romance film from the 80s. Maybe it's just because of the positive memories I have associated with this film, but I think it is very entertaining. It's the better version of "Pretty in Pink."

I enjoyed this movie all the way through. The way the main character behaved is the way I wish I could have acted as a teenager--he has confidence, knows what he wants, and stays true to himself, never pretending to be something he's not. I don't know how realistic a portrayal of a teenager it was, but I like to imagine what it would have been like if I could have handled things that way. Keith asks out a popular girl out, and the movie centers around their upcoming date-- kind of the way Pretty In Pink built up to the prom. If I'm going to compare the two, I think Pretty in Pink is a more complete story, but Some Kind Of Wonderful has it's own merits. I was happy to discover it, and I wish it was more well known.

Some Kind Of Wonderful is an excellent,underrated Teen classic that combines great direction,a wonderful cast,a fantastic script and a memorable score and soundtrack. All of those elements make Some Kind Of Wonderful a great film that is John Hughes at his best.Some Kind Of Wonderful tells the story of Keith(Eric Stolz),a High School teenager who is a gas station employee and painter and has romantic feelings for Amanda Jones(Lea Thompson),a popular girl who goes out with her rich boyfriend Hardy Jenns(Craig Sheffer). With courage by his side Keith asks Amanda out on a date which doesn't sit well with Keith's tomboy best friend Watts(Mary Stuart Masterson)who starts to have feelings for Keith. Now,Keith has to deal with his friendship with Watts and his attraction to Amanda.Released in 1987,Some Kind Of Wonderful is a terrific and memorable Teen movie that was writer John Hughes' final film in the Teen/High School/Coming Of Age genre and maybe his most overlooked of the Teen movies he did from 1984 to 87 and is a movie that came out towards the end of the teen movie boom of the 1980s because by 1987 the Teen genre by 1987 and John Hughes' association with the genre had hit it's creative peak. Often seen as a gender reversed remake of earlier Teen classic Pretty In Pink(1986)and some will admit there is similarities between the two films(the same director and writer,love triangle,soundtracks and even the movie posters). At the same time there are minor differences between the two movies. And while Pretty In Pink is a great movie and a more iconic and well-known film I always preferred Some Kind Of Wonderful a movie that may not be very original but is one of the best Teen films of the 80s. Some Kind Of Wonderful is in my opinion not only a John Hughes classic but a Teen classic as well but unfortunately is often underrated and overlooked in comparison to The Breakfast Club,Ferris Bueller's Day Off,Sixteen Candles,Pretty In Pink and Weird Science which is a shame because SKOW has all of the trademarks of those other films:memorable characters,great soundtrack and good dialog where everything just works. While none of the John Hughes regulars such as Molly Ringwald or Anthony Michael Hall appear in SKOW the Hughes style is still in effect with this movie. In SKOW we get some romance,drama and a little humor in the way Hughes did so well and the movie keeps your attention. The whole movie is basically a build-up to the last half hour of the film when Keith and Amanda go out on their date and what happens before that examining the relationships of the three main characters Keith,Watts and Amanda who in true John Hughes fashion are three dimensional characters and have depth. With Keith,Watts and Amanda we as a viewer have a connection with all of them as the three of them have to deal with love,relationships and dealing with their peers and classmates. As Hughes did with The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink SKOW deals with timeless themes and issues such as identity,different social groups as well as class struggle with rich vs poor among teenagers. The screenplay by John Hughes is terrific with memorable dialog that is strong,amazing and just makes the characters real and unforgettable. The ending of Some Kind Of Wonderful is amazing and classic John Hughes and is a truly effective and romantic and will viewers cheering at the screen. A fantastic ending.The cast is great. Eric Stolz is excellent as Keith,with Stolz bringing an emotional weight and depth to the role. Mary Stuart Masterson is brilliant,beautiful and gives the film's best performance as Watts,with Masterson being powerful and stealing every scene she's in. Lea Thompson is terrific and beautiful as Amanda,with Thompson being dramatic in the right places. Craig Sheffer is great as Hardy Jenns,Amanda's rich jerk boyfriend. John Ashton is wonderful as Cliff Nelson,Keith's Father. Elias Koteas is fantastic and funny as Duncan,a teenage punk. Maddie Corman(Laura Nelson),Molly Hagan(Shayne),Scott Coffey(Ray)and Lee Garlington(Gym Instructor)give good performances as well.The direction by Howard Deutch is simple,but great and effective,with Deutch sometimes moving the camera and bringing a nice pace and style to the film. Fine direction,Deutch.The score by Stephen Hague and John Musser is impressive,great and fits with the tone of the movie. Good score,Hague and Musser. There is also a soundtrack with some fantastic Pop/Rock songs that add to the film. A great soundtrack.In final word,if you love John Hughes or Teen Films,I highly suggest you see Some Kind Of Wonderful,an excellent,underrated Teen classic that is John Hughes at his best. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

Some Kind of Wonderful was written and produced by John Hughes, the man who most people call the 80s king. His teen based movies did very well with audiences of all ages and are still hailed as some of the best movies of that decade. But then you get this movie, which by all accounts should be excellent, but when you look at the trite storyline and shallow characters you think "John Hughes wrote this?"Don't get me wrong, I give this movie 7/10 because, for some reason or other, this movie, with all of its unoriginality and basically second rate story, captures your attention and you find yourself watching it over and over again. The character Watts was perhaps the only refreshing thing in the film. Her blatant disdain for her friend Keith's interest in a preppy girl isn't subtle and isn't annoying. She lets him know that she doesn't approve with her snide comments and concerns for him. I like to think it's her way of alerting her somewhat oblivious friends to her feelings for him. Mary Stuart Masterson did an impeccable job as the sexy tomboy best friend.Keith's character, although cute in his naive and unsure manner, isn't as likable as Watts; But this is masterfully done because you feel that his character shouldn't be as cool as Watts. You see in him purity of mind and heart and you know that without his best friend he wouldn't get very far in life before someone or something rocks his world, (and not in a good way.) All of these characters at first seem shallow and underdeveloped, but as you watch you realize that that is part of the movie's charm. You don't know everything about these characters because you are only glimpsing a week in the life of these kids, and they aren't spilling their guts and innermost feelings to you like in "The Breakfast Club" and they don't pine and long for someone they know they cannot have such as the characters in "Pretty in Pink" and "Sixteen Candles." They try to attain what their hearts want the most, but the two go about it differently. By the end of this movie you're smiling (Not at the abrupt ending where Keith realizes who he really loves) but at the fact that you know that this here is another classic and you think, "Yes, this is John Hughes."