Don't You Forget About Me

'Don't You Forget About Me' details the story of four Canadian filmmakers on the road to Illinois for one hopeful interview with John Hughes, a man who has shied from the spotlight since 1999. The film is mostly a collection of interviews with the people he worked with (plenty of familiar Brat Pack faces) and the various directors he inspired (from Jason Reitman to Kevin Smith and so on). This is obviously a documentary for Hughes fans, as there's plenty of adulation.

The strength of 'Don't You Forget About Me' is the interviews that showcase just how influential John Hughes was (and still is). One interviewee in particular mentions that with the slamming Hughes took from the critics of the '80s, his work is due for a critical reassessment. And, in effect, this documentary is that reassessment.

The film's overall weakness is the screen time devoted to the journey of the four filmmakers, themselves. Much time is spent repeating the words of the people they've interviewed, and the rest is spent bickering on how best to approach Hughes at his home. It does lend a sad ending to the film that Hughes died suddenly before its release. But one tends to wish they'd just stuck with interview footage as opposed to the editorialized "on the road" material.

6/10

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.

Filmmakers Matt Austin Sadowski, Lenny Panzer, Michael Facciolo and Kari Hollend are traveling from Toronto to Illinois in search of their favorite teen movie director John Hughes. His last directing job is Curly Sue in 1991 and he hasn't done an interview since 1999. The four have interviewed many of the actors and fans of his films who lament the state of present day teen movies.

They find the door closed and Hughes would be dead soon after. This would be a great homage to the man except for the slightly-creepy stalking. There is no doubt that the movie needs to interview Hughes. Without that, the worst thing for this movie is a rejection from Hughes. That's what this is. The man has left Hollywood and it would be better to let him exist without the fan stalkers outside his home.

It's nice to see the former Hughes stars and the nice things they have to say about the man. It's obviously made by people who love his work. Jim Kerr from Simple Minds has an interesting story about the song. Also Howard Deutch's story of Hughes writing 50 pages of Ferris Beuller in one night is another nice behind-the-scene tidbit. The movie is short or else I would suggest cutting out the hunting party. I would suggest leaving it out anyways.

All the interviews with the old casts/crews/other producers of movies/etc were fine even though most of them were framed terribly, lit worse, and tended to repeat content. But EVERYTHING with the people making the movie was terrible, self-righteous, pompous, trash that nearly made my brain melt. They rambled on and on, filmed themselves pontificating nothing of import, then have the audacity to show up at the man's house with a camera and expect to meet him? Then, when refused they wrote a letter on torn out looseleaf and expected something to come of it? How delusional can you get? Not only were they terrible at doing something as simple as framing an interview, but they put clips from movies in the wrong aspect ratios, had teenagers endlessly say how much the older movies were better than the newer ones (we get the point, don't show this 100 times), but they felt that they were important enough to put on film in such large quantities that it made me not want to watch John Hughes movies anymore! Ugh, stay FAR away from this, just watch the old movies and be glad that the people who made this one haven't had a chance to do anything else.

Finally a documentary about the life of John Hughes. The unfortunate part is that it's made by amateur Canadian (sadly) filmmakers. The interviews with the stars of Hughes' films are the best part of this documentary. The let down is that while Judd Nelson and other stars are present, there are many stars who aren't. Where was Matthew Broderick? The filmmakers also go on an adventure to go to Hughes' home and subsequently interview him. I'll save you the effort.They don't interview Hughes because they're silly amateurs who wrote up their interview questions half an hour earlier in a coffee shop. They also get Hughes' home address from his pizza delivery man.

It's worth watching for the interviews with the cast of Breakfast Club (sans Molly Ringwald, Estevez, Michael Hall), Weird Science (sans Michael Hall), Ferris Bueller (sans Matthew Broderick,Jeffrey Jones (Rooney)). You get the idea. They also interview filmmaker inspired by Hughes like Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air) and Kevin Smith (Clerks). The celebs don't need much prodding so it's the best part of the documentary.

I still hope someone makes a halfway decent documentary about the life of John Hughes. Hopefully it won't be deluded fan-boys who treat Hughes like he's Jesus Christ or John Lennon (okay, Hughes really is the Gen X Lennon). Hughes is dead but his legacy lives on. The man simply wanted privacy and we'll probably never know how many weirdos showed up at his door telling him how important he is. It's the J.D. Salinger effect.