EW review: 'Pretty' still in the pink

By Mandi Bierly
Entertainment Weekly

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(Entertainment Weekly) -- There are many theories as to why John Hughes-penned films remain the zenith of teen cinema -- and you'll hear most of them on the "Pretty in Pink: Everything's Duckie Edition," the ultimate high school love triangle between poor-but-fashionable Andie (Molly Ringwald), her devoted, delusional best friend Duckie (Jon Cryer), and the rich-but-allegedly-soulful Blane (Andrew McCarthy).

Is it because Hughes took teenagers' problems seriously? Because he wrote unapologetic outcasts who were self-reliant? Because he showed young women as emotionally vulnerable without resorting to pratfalls?

The answer is: yes. There's an underlying dignity in Hughes' movies, which probably explains why Pink's three stars return to chat about their roles.

Cryer recounts buying Capezio shoes to rehearse his "Try a Little Tenderness" dance scene with choreographer Kenny Ortega; Ringwald opens up about McCarthy being the only man to ever stand her up in real life; and McCarthy wonders if maybe he could've gotten a better wig for the prom reshoot if they'd known we'd still be talking about the film 20 years later.

The reclusive Hughes appears only in interviews from 1985. (The same goes for the new "Some Kind of Wonderful" disc, incidentally, which includes a chat between Hughes and his "She's Having a Baby" star Kevin Bacon from 1986.) Of "Pink's" 10 special features, the casting doc "Zoids and Richies" and the self-explanatory "Prom Queen: All About Molly" and "Favorite Scenes" are must-sees.

Ringwald is credited with persuading Hughes and director Howard Deutch to cast McCarthy, whom she found "dreamy," instead of some square-jawed jock. Robert Downey Jr., meanwhile, nearly landed the role of Duckie.

And spoiler alert: If he had, Ringwald says the film's original scripted ending -- Andie stays with the Duckman at the prom and they dance to David Bowie's "Heroes" -- might have worked after all. (Because Downey didn't give her the brother vibe Cryer did.)

The actual footage of Ringwald and Cryer's dance is nowhere to be found in the 12-minute "Original Ending" featurette, or in Paramount's archives apparently. Thus there's no judging whether test audiences were right when they booed and forced a wounded Hughes to put Andie back together with Blane for the film's release.

Cryer diplomatically concedes: "If you're gonna do a story about, you know, love across the divide of class, it kinda has to work; otherwise you're sayin' something really wrong."

Too bad James Spader is MIA. Others praise his deliciously wicked ways -- and remind us how hot he was in a white linen suit. "Could he have been more beautiful or sexy?" Annie Potts asks. No.

EW Grade: A-

'Arrested Development: The Complete Third Season'

Reviewed by Brian Raftery

For the die-hard fans who watched Fox torture "Arrested Development" in its final months -- ordering only 13 episodes, changing and rechanging its time slot -- even the "Complete Third Season's" packaging may prompt misty eyes. While previous seasons arrived in multidisc boxes, the truncated season 3 takes up a slim, sad-looking little case.

It's a bittersweet visual reminder that all the accolades in the world -- including a best-comedy-series Emmy -- couldn't save this hilarious, repeatedly rewarding show.

If only creator Mitchell Hurwitz shared our rage. Considering the hoops viewers had to jump through just to find the show, a little behind-the-scenes explanation and spleen might have been cathartic. But instead, on the three overcrowded commentary tracks, he and the cast run out the clock by ribbing each other. (And they track down Jeffrey Tambor on his cell to harass him for skipping the recording session.) There's a featurette on the show's last-ever day of shooting; it's mostly a bunch of glum-looking actors.

We'll just have to make do with the episodes themselves -- which featured some ingenious left-field comic turns. None of them would make even a lick of sense if we detailed them here, but let's just say that the climax of "Mr. F" -- featuring a mole costume, a jet pack, and four befuddled Japanese businessmen -- is reason alone to mourn "Development's" demise.

RIP.

EW Grade: B+

'Desperate Housewives: The Complete Second Season'

Reviewed by Aubry Anne D'Arminio

"Desperate Housewives: The Complete Second Season's" most intriguing female story lines -- a nun covets Gaby's husband, Bree pursues her sex-addicted AA sponsor, and new addition Betty (Alfre Woodard) has problem sons -- get stale when stretched over multiple episodes. Only the show's male supporting roles (like Richard Burgi's Karl) are fresh.

EXTRAS "The Waltons' " Michael Learned and other classic TV moms dish ("I look at Bree and I think, No wonder she drinks," says Learned).

EW Grade: B-

'Friends With Money'

Reviewed by Kirven Blount

Writer-director Nicole Holofcener and her "Friends With Money" cast craft authentic moments in presenting four women on the other side of 30. Collaborative artistry goes a long way (it's great to see women carry a film), but the slices of life don't coalesce into a resonant statement.

EXTRAS Holofcener comments on the Jennifer Aniston-hunting paparazzi's flashbulbs in several shots, and Frances McDormand says she and her costars "care a lot more about the written word than our own fame and fortune."

EW Grade: B+

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