John Cryer is amazing as Duckie. The scene where he lip syncs to Otis Redding’s ‘Try a Little Tenderness’ is the best scene in the film. It seems impossible that the test audiences hated Andie ending up with him. It just makes sense and Andrew McCarthy’s character just doesn’t deserve her. It really ruins the film. Annie Potts, Harry Dean Stanton and James Spader (who is channelling the Mike Damone character from FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH) also give good performances. The ‘80s New Wave and Punk looks that color the world of the film is also a standout, but the greatest thing about it will always be the soundtrack. An issue that persists throughout the film is that the main 3 characters are all assholes (Duckie the least of all, but he is still a dick throughout). This makes it hard to get very invested in everything.
