Happy 40th Birthday Molly Ringwald

Yeah, yeah. I whipped something up on my site to make the deadline for her birthday. But I think the only people who got messed with were those who can actually get the RSS feed element to work, figured if anything was amiss from the people who tolerate my pitiful DSL upload, I would’ve received a nasty e-mail.

So rewind your mental watch as if I wrote this on time. (I’ll explain in another story why I was late and exhausted).

Twenty years ago, I used to think Molly was attractive and my type. However, even at 17, I knew I didn’t have a prayer with her, she was more of an archetype to aim for until I got into the swing of life at Marquette; I only dated (I think) one real redhead in my life and she turned out to be a real jerk.

What I used to like about Molly were the string of John Hughes’ films she starred in because it was refreshing to see an actual 16-year old person portraying a 16-year-old character instead of some actress in her early twenties with a size 34B chest. She had the angst, frustration and embarrassment down in Sixteen Candles, the drama and prudishness of a member of the ruling clique in The Breakfast Club and I can’t remember what she had going with Pretty in Pink. The last movie is the one with the best memories. Due my family’s recent move to North Dakota, we were behind the curve on the John Hughes’ run except for the Simple Minds tune being played to death in the Spring of 1985. After I had caught up on her previous work through cable or tape, I was hellbent on seeing Pretty in Pink as soon as it appeared in the Spring of 1986. Dad was generous enough to take me on a day trip into Bismarck to see it while we bought groceries. Looking back, I’m sure he was bored yet he was a good sport; I doubt I could be if my oldest niece dragged me into the theatrical release of Hanna Montana.

After Pink, Molly’s career took a nose dive with some awful choices: The Pick-up Artist, For Keeps?, Fresh Horses and Betsy’s Wedding. Meanwhile, her mother rejected Blue Velvet on her behalf because it was too weird and the part went to Laura Dern. There’s a blunder I’d never let my parents ever forget.

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