10 Most Inspirational Teen Movies Of All Time

“It's gonna feel good to stand on my own.”

There are plenty who’d be appalled at the inclusion here of Some Kind Of Wonderful over the far better known Pretty In Pink. After all, although it started radically differently, the former ended up being almost a remake of the latter. They share the same director - Howard Deutch - almost identical plotlines, and almost identical posters. They’re both even named after songs.

However, there’s far more to love with Some Kind Of Wonderful - it’s more mature, thoughtful and understated. The gender roles were reversed, with the shy, creative redhead from the wrong side of the tracks being played by Eric Stoltz, the part of his misfit best friend (who’s secretly in love with him) played by Mary Stuart Masterson, and the surprisingly attainable unattainable object of his affection played by Lea Thompson.

Thompson’s Amanda isn’t just a version of Blane - she’s also poor, an insecure, lonely creature who has the biggest narrative arc of the film. The best friend isn’t a supporting character here, either: Watts, a cynical tomboy with her heart on her sleeve, gets more or less equal billing to Stoltz’ Keith, and Masterson’s performance is stunning, a revelation on every viewing.

She gets the guy, too. Where Pretty In Pink chickens out and leaves Andie with Blane, Some Kind Of Wonderful has the courage of its convictions. Of course Watts belongs with Keith. Anything else is nonsense.

Once again, this is a movie that treats the kids as though they have agency, authority over their own lives. His father wants Keith to be the first in the family to go to college, but Keith, an artist, has his own ideas about his identity, and how to maintain his own self-respect.

John Hughes treated teenagers like developing adults, not children, and that’s why his films still fly, even thirty years on.