Don't You Forget About Me
Don't You Forget About Me
R | 13 July 2010 (USA)
Don't You Forget About Me Trailers

Throughout the ’80s John Hughes defined the teen movie genre and spoke not only to that generation’s teens, but every generation that has followed. Then in 1991 he hung up his director’s hat and disappeared into obscurity ala J.D Salinger. In 2008, a group of young Canadian filmmakers set out to complete a documentary about the man with what they hoped would culminate with an interview, which would be his first since 1999.

Reviews
Karl Self

The fact that Roger Ebert called John Hughes the "philosopher of adolescence" obscures the fact that he was to a larger degree a commercially highly successful writer, producer and also director of mainstream movies in general. Not all of them were great -- I think that Weird Science, for example, is crap (great title though). The documentary works great when we see all those familiar faces from his best movies such as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" thirty years later talking about their joyful memories from when they were young and stars. Then there is a lot of eulogizing from teenagers who say that modern movies don't know what teenagers are about, but teenagers probably always would say that.To give the documentary a framework, the contributors to the documentary then set off to visit John Hughes at his home in Chicago, ostensibly to ask him to direct another teen movie. This charade is kind of annoying because it changes the focus of the documentary from Hughes to the film team, which we don't really care for all that much. Hughes of course doesn't come out to meet the camera crew, and later returns their letter without any further reply or comment. A short while after, he dies of a heart attack in New York City.The movies has its ups (the interviews with the actors) and downs (the eulogizing of the "good old times of teen cinema when actors didn't divulge their private life on Facebook"), but overall it was nice to get a bit more insight into John Hughes' work.

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phaota1

I absolutely love the movies of John Hughes. They are classic, timeless in the emotion, story and character aspects, beautifully written and superbly acted by the then young celebrity kids. As noted in this well-done documentary, and supported by many of the actors and people that worked in the various films (with the exception of a some cast that clearly had too high an ego to take time out for an interview), John's films have and will continue to stand the test of time for their realistic portrayal of teenage life. How any critic could have bad mouthed his movies back in the 80s is amazing to see. I'm looking at you Gene Siskel. Your ugly review of "Ferris Bueller" was uncalled for. That was and still is one of the all-time best John Hughes comedies. No matter how many times I've seen it, the movie always makes me laugh hard.As for the documentary, these Canadian kids went above and beyond to get such great interviews with various actors and people involved with the films, as well as chatting with teenagers of today on their views of John's movies and how teen films of the 90s and now just do not have the realism of teenage life and personalities that they can connect to personally. They are more fantasy, and as one kid said, "T&A". Very true. The editing in this documentary is perfect, especially finding great dialog clips from the various Hughes films that correspond to the discussion segment. You will definitely laugh a lot. My only complaint is the ending. Not for the filmmakers and their job, but at John Hughes himself. I'm not going to saying what happens, but it really made me mad. And now that John is gone, it bugs me more.If you love the films of John Hughes, you owe it to yourself to watch this documentary. It is a wonderful look back at his great films and how they continue to touch peoples lives today, especially teenagers.

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kixbooty

John Hughes is a personal hero of mine, so I was desperate to see this film, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed, mainly because the contributions from his movie stars, from Ally Sheedy to Alan Ruck, were respectful, sincere and full of adoration. All of them wondering what happened to a man who they considered a dear friend.I had to think though, if these actors and producers were such good friends of Hughes, wouldn't he have wanted to stay in touch? Wouldn't he have missed their company as much as they claim to miss his? One aspect of this film that I found utterly pointless was the group of wannabe film-makers, documenting their attempts to talk to the man himself. It was kind of like a secondary unneeded documentary mcguffin. It did give a glimpse in to their passion for this project though, but I found their street walking interviews with kids who obviously have no idea what they're talking about to be tacky and last-minute.This movie being made while Hughes was still alive, provided a sense of longing optimism for the return of Hughes, as the actors that have given interviews beg him to come back, which leaves you with a depressing taste in your mouth at the end of the film as you realise he's gone and his genius has gone with him.Notably absent was a contribution from Matthew Broderick, Molly Ringwald and Macaulay Culkin, which disappointed me considering I cried like a baby at their Oscars tribute.I give this film a 6/20 for effort, because despite its shortcomings, it's clearly a labour of love and who can blame them for that?Oh, and I still think Judd Nelson is a self righteous, conceited showpony.

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Clay Branch

"Don't You Forget About Me" A documentary every fan of John Hughes wanted to see made by a group of filmmakers no one wanted to see make it. Sadly the filmmakers involved in the creation of this project possess non of the talent the subject of the film himself embodied. Excellent moments with cast members of Mr. Hughes films and moments with the filmmakers of the documentary you cannot fast forward through quickly enough. John, I promise you I will never forget about you or the joy, tears, laughter and unforgettable lines you left behind. You will always be one of a kind. To the creators of this documentary, I will forget about you I've pressed the submit button.

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