The Original Ending of '80s Classic PRETTY IN PINK Had Test Audiences Booing, But I Think the Original Had It Right

Pretty In Pink is a 1980s classic that was written by John Hughes, writer of quintessential coming-of-age ‘80s films like The Breakfast Club, 16 Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and many more. The story follows Andie (Molly Ringwald), a poor, hardworking, and stylish teen from the wrong side of the tracks; her best friend, Duckie (Jon Cryer), who is in love with her; and Blane (Andrew McCarthy), the rich kid Andie falls for.

I feel very passionately about this movie because it has always been a part of my life. It was a favorite of my older sisters, and I grew up loving it as well. I loved Duckie and the “Try a Little Tenderness” scene, and when I was very young, it didn’t occur to me that the movie should have ended any other way. But when I was about 13, my dad bought me the book Pretty In Pink because he knew I was a fan, and I read it and found that in the book version, Andie ends up with Duckie! And I started to take a closer look at the film.

In the movie, Duckie is always there for Andie. I get that you don’t always have reciprocal feelings for people that fall in love with you, but the more I watched, the more I realized that the relationship between Andie and Blane is totally forced! Blane totally ghosts Andie, then gaslights her at the prom when he tells her that he never stopped believing in her, she just didn’t believe in herself. Um, excuse me, but you were the one who stopped returning her calls and stood her up for the dance. What a dick. Then they just kiss and everything is fine.

But as it turns out, the filmmakers tried to give the movie the proper ending, but test audiences hated it so much that they booed the ending that saw Andie and Duckie as a pair. Director of the film, Howard Deutch recently talked to CinemaBlend about the original:

The original ending was Duckie and Molly ended up together. And the audience booed. And so we all had a heart attack, and had to reshoot. And John figured out how to change it so that Andrew came alone to the prom, and then Duckie sacrificed his love, and Molly and Andrew could be together.

I realize that Duckie is not the obvious choice, especially for the shallow ‘80s, but Blane was a straight up jerk. It’s too bad that the audiences couldn’t see that. But luckily, a new Blu-ray release of the film hit shelves this week, and Paramount confirmed that the original ending will be included in it! I will be picking this Blu-ray up for this reason alone.

How do you think Pretty in Pink should have ended?