Some Kind of Wonderful receives the Steelbook treatment in a beautiful collector’s item that should please fans and newcomers alike. The case showcases the film’s trio of main characters in stylistic fashion, with the title of the film alongside them. Wonderful in the title is painted on, referencing the lead character Keith’s artistic dreams, and it looks really nice. There’s spatter from the blue paint on Keith’s shirt on the cover as well, which is a nice touch.
The back of the case follows the same style as the Pretty in Pink Steelbook release, where we have the film’s final quote taking up most of the back. It’s more sporadic than the Pretty in Pink quote, which makes sense and suits the film better. There’s some white paint spatter found here, and the word future is painted on in blue much like is found on the cover. There’s also the all-important diamond earrings placed nicely beside the quote, tying together a really simple, yet stylish package for this case.
On the inside we’ve got a great shot of the three stars of the film, which again fits perfectly with the movie. They could’ve taken a few scenes from the movie that would’ve worked, but it really works to just keep the focus on these characters and the black vibe that flows nicely throughout the entire Steelbook.
Some Kind of Wonderful is basically John Hughes’ spiritual successor to Pretty in Pink, which had been released only a year prior. In fact, it was only really written by Hughes because he wasn’t able to end Pretty in Pink the way he originally wanted after poor reviews from test audiences. If you’re not familiar, Pretty in Pink stars Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh, an unpopular high school student who falls for the popular Blane (Andrew McCarthy,) much to the chagrin of her best friend Duckie (John Cryer) who is secretly in love with her. Hughes originally wanted Andie to end up with Duckie, but audiences didn’t believe it so the ending was reshot with Andie and Blane ending up together.
This didn’t sit well with Hughes and thus, Some Kind of Wonderful was born, where he changed around the sexes of the main characters, this time focusing on Keith Nelson (Eric Stoltz,) an unpopular high school student who has a crush on the popular Amanda Jones (Lea Thompson,) much to the chagrin of his best friend Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson) who has a secret crush on him. Sound familiar? What’s surprising is that I found Some Kind of Wonderful a lot more enjoyable than Pretty in Pink, and the characters and their predicaments – while similar to those in Pretty in Pink – to be much more relatable and easier to get behind and root for.
I found Pretty in Pink to be fairly generic, and paint-by-numbers Hughes, and while you’d think a carbon copy film he wrote just so he could get the ending he wanted would be even worse, every character involved (albeit after a major rewrite that changed the tone from comedic to more dramatic) actually grows a lot more than I thought those in Pretty in Pink did by the end. Plus, it would’ve just been illogical to have Andie and Duckie end up together because they had zero chemistry. Absolutely none! I completely understand the “is in love with his/her best friend but they’re in love with someone else” angle, but if the chemistry just isn’t there and the object of the admirer’s affection doesn’t ever even hint at feeling the same, then it just won’t work. Test audiences were right and Hughes, even though he created and wrote the characters, was wrong.
But in Some Kind of Wonderful it all works. The potential for Keith and Watts ending up together is there, even though Keith is enamoured with Amanda throughout the film. The chemistry between all three characters works, each have their own reasons for doing what they do and most important of all is that it all makes sense and actually feels right. Nothing is forced and as the film progresses the characters figure things out for themselves organically and that’s what Andie and Duckie never had and why it just didn’t work and why audiences rejected it.
The cast has great chemistry here, and it really helps elevate their characters. It was interesting to learn after watching the film that one of the more pivotal scenes which saw Watts teaching Keith how to kiss wasn’t actually in the original script and was written on the spot by Hughes when he felt that something was missing. It’s a great scene that’s of such great importance to the film that the movie actually wouldn’t have worked as well without it. It may have actually not worked at all, as it truly is vital and handled perfectly to drive things forward.
While Stoltz and Thompson are both great in their roles, Masterson really helps push the film to the next level. If you don’t root for Watts to end up happy then the film just falls flat, regardless of the outcome. Masterson adds layers to a character that could’ve easily just been the smitten best friend who can’t tell Keith how she feels, but instead there’s a lot more emotion to it.
What’s crazy is that Hughes and director Howard Deutch (who also directed Pretty in Pink) both wanted Ringwald to play the role of Watts, but she turned it down because she felt it was too much like Pretty in Pink. It’s somewhat baffling to me that both wanted her to play such a similar role (even though she would be the Duckie in this scenario) that close to the release of what is arguably the same story by the same two guys. Had Ringwald agreed I’m not sure the character of Watts would’ve resonated as strongly as it does thanks to Masterson, as this would’ve been the fourth time Ringwald was in a Hughes film in four years – often as the romantic lead. I feel as though it would’ve just come off as more of the same instead of something fresh albeit similar in tone.
So if you’re just discovering the John Hughes film library and may have been turned off by Pretty in Pink then I highly recommend giving Some Kind of Wonderful a chance, as I found it just works better as a film overall. That’s not to say Pretty in Pink is bad, it’s just that Some Kind of Wonderful tells the same kind of story that Pretty in Pink attempted to tell, only better. And if you’re already a Hughes fan or know someone who is, then look no further for the perfect gift, as this beautiful looking Steelbook of Some Kind of Wonderful certainly is just that.
Blu-ray Video and Audio Review
The 1080p video transfer of the film looks good and feels very of the age for when the film came out. I’m sure at some point we may see these films revisited in a complete 4K remaster, but for now Some Kind of Wonderful looks good, with a very filmic, inviting look to it. There’s plenty of the film that takes place at night, and the blacks look strong, not muddy, and as a whole it just comes together nicely allowing the viewer to just focus on the story and not worry about picture adjustments or trying to make out what’s happening.
The audio mix is really solid, delivered in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, with great, clear dialogue that is balanced perfectly with the soundtrack, score and mix. The film is fairly straightforward in its presentation so there’s no crazy surround sound, but the random boosts from the score and Watts playing the drums are welcome when they happen.
Special Features:
Commentary – There’s a commentary on the disc with director Howard Deutch and Lea Thompson. The fun story here is that they met while filming this, and are to this day married. As a whole these two give some solid insight into the film for fans who want to get a bit more information about the making of.
Back to Wonderful – This is a 2021 interview with Deutch who goes into the history of his working on the film, how it initially hurt his relationship with Hughes, how working on Pretty in Pink helped him here and a bit more. It’s a brief featurette, but there’s a lot of fun info in here for fans that you may already know, but are now getting right from the source.
The Making of Some Kind of Wonderful – This is a featurette that’s just under 8-minutes in length and sees Deutch, Stoltz, Masterson and Thompson all looking back on the making of the film, how they all were brought on and various other stories. Again, brief but insightful for those who may or may not know certain things about how this film came to be.
Meet the Cast of Some Kind of Wonderful – This is a 13.5 minute feature that has interviews ranging from 1985 to 2006 with the same cast from above, as well as a few more added on. More stories are told and again, these are all just really solid features for fans to enjoy.
Kevin Bacon Interviews John Hughes – This is an 11-minute feature that sees Bacon interviewing Hughes about his writing style, his views on the high school hierarchy, the characters in the film and how his own personal experiences influence his writing. It’s a fun interview from back in the day, and quite fun to see Bacon in the chair firing off the questions.
Paramount Pictures Presents Some Kind of Wonderful. Starring: Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, Lea Thompson, Craig Sheffer, John Ashton, Elias Koteas. Running time: 95 Minutes. Rating: PG. Steelbook Blu-ray Released: June 8, 2021.
About Brendan Campbell
