Some Kind of Wonderful | 
| Actors: Steve Alterman, Pamela Anderson, John Ashton, Candace Cameron, Carmine Caridi
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $4.00
You Save: $10.98 (73%)
New (38) Used (9) from $4.00
Rating:  115 reviews
Sales Rank: 33956
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
MPN: PARD138104D
UPC: 097361381046
EAN: 0097361381046
ASIN: B0019GO5DC
Theatrical Release Date: 1987
Release Date: August 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Movie DVD
Amazon.com essential video
After dominating the teen-movie genre for the bulk of the 1980s, writer-producer (and sometimes director) John Hughes proved that he had at least one good movie left in him before squandering his talent on lame comedies throughout the 1990s. Like The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful treated its teenaged characters like real people with real feelings, hopes, fears, and desire. Mary Stuart Masterson gives a great performance as a tomboy drummer named Watts who's secretly in love with her best friend, Keith (Eric Stoltz), an aspiring artist who is oblivious to her affection because he's got a crush on Amanda (Lea Thompson), the popular high school beauty. Watts will even go so far as to chauffeur a date for Keith and Amanda, if only to prove--after a lot of patient, emotional anguish--that she's better for Keith than Amanda could ever be. The movie's drama comes from Keith's gradual realization that there's more to love than surface attraction, and Hughes gets extra mileage out of the romantic confusion by allowing Thompson's character to be more than a shallow campus cutie. All three of the leads are good fits in their roles, and this was one of the few teen films of the '80s to add genuine depth to its mainstream appeal. It's one of the few John Hughes movies to stand the test of time. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 110 more reviews...
 Awesome purchase! June 12, 2009
jurseygurl
This was a great purchase. As promised, the item was in perfect condition and no scratches. Thank you to the seller!
 Hughes' Teen Movie Swan Song June 10, 2009
Barry
And my 80's reviews continue. Okay, watching this movie is basically like watching "Pretty In Pink" all over again, but with the genders and ending switched. Makes sense. It was written by the same writer, John Hughes, and directed by the same director, Howard Deutch(who would later marry his star, Lea Thompson). But there's more to it than that, and we will get into that a little bit later. For starters, let's get to what the movie is about. But if you have seen the already mentioned PIP, then you pretty much already know. And having just written a review for PIP, I thought it would be quite hard to review a movie that is basically the same one I just wrote about. But I will do my best!.
Eric Stoltz stars as Keith Nelson, a middle class 18 year old high school senior. He works at a garage, attends school, and has a father(John Ashton, "Beverly Hills Cop")riding his every moment to pick a college to attend. But Keith is on his own path. He has a best friend in Watts(Mary Stuart Masterson), a tomboy with a love of drums(as she carries her sticks with her wherever she goes)and for Keith. But you see, Keith is blind, and he doesn't see it. Instead, he has the hots for Amanda Jones(Lea Thompson), a beauty who is in a whole other class than Keith and seemingly unattainable. When she has had enough of her boyfriend Hardy Jenns(Craig Scheffer), Amanda accepts Keith's offer of a date, and he sets out to win the girl, stand up to the bully, and continue to overlook his best pal's feelings for him.
Okay, here is how I know the story. John Hughes wrote "Pretty In Pink" with an ending he liked and wanted. The director, producers, and even Ringwald(who was offered this movie but turned it down. Why would she want to do the same movie over again?) herself, didn't like it, didn't think the audience would either, and it was changed. In my opinion, it was a change for the better. Ending it the other way just didn't ring true to me and a lot of others, and the people involved supporting the change have valid reasoning. So, John Hughes ended up writing this movie in response to how "Pretty In Pink" ended with his original ending intact. Except this time, his original ending works for the better with these characters. It really wouldn't of worked with PIP at all, and I am glad they changed it for that film. Here, it does ring true, and it works. It feels right. The way it should be. But does anything else work?.
Just like PIP, "Some King Of Wondeful" is working with a story that is not new and we've seen numerous times. But the movie has what PIP had that made it seem worthwhile. The script, and a lot of the dialogue, just works for the time and place and the characters. These people seem like real human beings, and not plastic models that you see plastered all over TV and movies nowadays. I found myself charmed by the whole thing, as with PIP, and really liked the characters. Speaking of, The characters were cast with good actors. Even though Ringwald sat this one out, we get another redhead in the form of Eric Stoltz. He does an admirable job as Keith Nelson, and he is really likeable and down to earth. There is an innocent charm to him in the same way as Ringwald's past characters in the Hughes universe. He is relatable and watchable. So too is Mary Stuart Masterson as Watts, the "Duckie" of this version. She has the right kind of attitude and punkiness for the role, and doesn't make it a caricature, which can so easily be done, and many actors would do just that with the role. Sadly, Lea Thompson(the female version of Andrew McCarthy) can't quite match the other two. She is pretty and likeable, but I got the feeling that maybe she was just the wrong choice for Amanda Jones. Some of her scenes were a little wooden, and I didn't get much chemistry with her and Keith together. Thompson is a fine actress, but she has been much better in other roles. And then there is Keith's family. John Ashton is great as the gruff dad, but it's Keith's two sisters, played by Maddie Corman and Candace Cameron, that steal the show. Some of the best humor in the movie comes from his family. I loved those parts. I also loved Elias Koteas as the school tough guy, whose relationship with Keith soon turns after his first introduction in the movie in a great way. His scenes with Stoltz in detention admiring each other's art work was a particular highlight. I also loved the "Breakfast Club" reference when Watts tells the guys she's playing cards with "you mess with the bull, you get the horns". The line the principal gave to Bender.
I really liked and enjoyed this movie a lot, and even though there is a part of me that wants to write a less than rave review, or at least, a smaller four star rating, simply because we've just seen this movie a year before, I just can't. I liked it too much and it was just very enjoyable. No matter if we've seen this story before, this movie still manages to get you with it's real, normal, characters, the well casted actors they have assembled for the movie, and the surroundings. No matter what decade, we've all been to high school. John Hughes always knows how to cast a movie too. His casts are usually great. As for the ending, it's the feel good ending that a lot of people would want, and here, it's what should happen. I just don't think I would feel the same if PIP had ended the same way. Plus, if it did, then we probably wouldn't of gotten this movie. And did you catch a Rolling Stones theme throughout the movie. Amanda Jones is a Stones song, one that is heard throughout the film. The main kid, Keith, is named after Keith Richards. And Watts?. You guessed it. Stones drummer, Charlie Watts. Love it. So, "Some Kind Of Wonderful" is PIP 2, but that's okay. It's also one of, if not the last, great teen/high school movies of the 80's, and John Hughes' last as well. The 80's was just perfect, and it surprises me how people still have to point out, as a negative, that these movies are dated. Well, of course they are. And the point being?. They weren't made yesterday. Nowadays, something only a month old is dated and people are on to the next thing. The great thing about these movies is that not only is it's "dated-ness" a good thing, a fun nostalgic thing, but these movies have things that people can see and go "Oh!, remember that!". Some of these things may not be what someone wants to remember, but they are memorable. 20 years from now, it's not going to be the same looking back at movies from the 90's or present day. I guess it means more to those who actually grew up in the time and understand what it had to offer much better. Also, these kinds of movies have issues that are universal to everyone. Hughes was a master at this genre. Nobody did it better than him. If "Some Kind Of Wonderful" was to be his teen swan song, it wasn't a bad way to go.
This edition is the "I Love The 80's" version, and there are no special features, but you get the exact same CD with the exact same 4 songs that are in the other editions. While this is cool, it would of been nice if it were a different CD in each one. I mean, does anyone really need numerous copies of A-Ha's "Take On Me"?. I think not.
Great 80s Teen Flick June 4, 2009
C. Gurl
I love 80s movies and this is one of my favorites. i can watch it over and over. a shame its not as popular as some of my other favorites like pretty in pink, breakfast club just to mention a few. but really its in my opinion better then those and i really love those movies as well. A big time must see if you like 80s teen flicks. :)
Hold its ground even today May 13, 2009
M. D. Fonseca (Thunder)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A pleasant watching experience through and through. Masterson, Thompson, Stoltz, Koteas, Sheffer, all give strong and enduring performances.
A little gem.
Some Kind of Wonderful April 22, 2009
Mark Twain
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you like this movie, it is great. If you don't, I would not recommend buying it. Personally, I think it is a great movie and bought it for that reason.
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