This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

The Worst Film Ever

It is a performances centric movie

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A documentary about a bunch of wannabe-documentary filmmakers who got amazing subjects to interview yet got nothing from them because they focused more on their own presence on screen as if anyone is or would be interested in a pack of perfect nobodies in the filmmaking industry. They behaved more like stalkers than doc makers. A pathetic lot they proved to be and a true disservice to John Hughes' work and persona. More than half the film you see these newbies pulling ideas out of their asses which evidently showed how unprepared they were to confront this task. They may have been fans but that didn't make then researchers on the subject. Also, if you read the threads section, you'll notice some of them, as little brats, have jumped in to defend their crock of feces in the most immature and unprofessional way. Skip this one... you'll be glad you did.

This is a very good documentary. The film makers were able to get interviews from plenty of actors who were in Hughes' films, as well as talking to the always funny Kevin Smith, who I assumed after watching Dogma, hated Hughes films, based on the two separate attacks that occurred.I really liked the fact that they talked with Roeper and Ebert, and found it shocking that both were actually fans of Hughes' films.Some of the actors that were in the film, I haven't seen in quite some time, and the ones I have, I thought it was interesting to get their take on the movies, and the parts they played in them.It was also interesting to see the high schoolers of today identifying with the movies. In the High School Musical, or Hannah Montana, or Twilight age, I found it eye opening that the youth of today still find movies, of a generation ago, still talk to them. We all identified with the characters growing up, or at least as we got older, and now our kids are doing the same. For those of us who didn't understand our parent's movies, or didn't want to, I found that interesting.Spoiler alert! The only thing that I thought sucked about the movie was Hughes ignoring the request. I always liked Hughes movies, most of them, and I've seen, no offence intended, bigger personalities give their fans the time of day, let alone legitimate film makers. This just could be attributed to the stalkers of today, and he may have had that fear, unfortunately we will never know. However, to take the time to return the DVD, and the note via FED EX, with no note or anything was actually a middle finger, and will leave me with that image next time I consider watching one of his movies, which will be in a very long time, if at all.

I can't gloss over this review just because I love watching John Hughes movies, or clips from his movies for that matter."Don't You Forget About Me" is a documentary about 4 John Hughes fans that decide to hop in a van, drive to Chicago, and seek out the aloof Hughes.The clips from the films and the interviews from the stars and filmmakers like Kevin Smith were nice, and they were heartfelt tributes to Hughes, but there are two serious problems with this documentary.The first: Do you realize how easy it is to make a compilation of enjoyable moments from John Hughes films? I'm sure I could jump right over to youtube and find similar compilations.The second: So,.. you wanna make a tribute to Hughes... so you take a camera TO HIS HOUSE mind you(now everyone knows where he lives/lived)... and try to get an interview(unscheduled mind you) with someone who has obviously made a serious effort to avoid the media. I thought the whole idea was poorly thought out. They assembled a letter as well as a list of question to ask Hughes in seconds. That's the respect they had for their little documentary and for the director.The film offered little to no background or insight into Hughes' past. Instead the film makes huge assumptions that are gathered on the fly from 4 people who did NO RESEARCH other than seek out other directors and cast members to talk to.In the end, our 4 seekers offer nothing to this film other than the same emotions that nearly everyone has about John Hughes films. Even the kids they interviewed offered more insight.Was it enjoyable? Well, I didn't turn it off. However, this is something that anyone could have put together, and perhaps done it with a little more respect and panache. The problem is not so much the film as it is the idea of the film. It would have worked so much better if the whole 'searching for Hughes in the Van with a bunch of normal characters' idea would have been scrapped for an in-depth background and tribute that gave us more insight on John Hughes - after all, this was supposed to be a documentary about him.

A group of filmmakers have a mission: To track down the reclusive and talented director John Hughes (an idle of the group). Their journey become "Don't You Forget About Me", an documentary about Hughes's films and their impact in the culture and in everyone's lives. The result: A great documentary with some non-great moments. John Hughes (1950-2009) was the creator of classics like "Pretty in Pink", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "The Breakfast Club", "Weird Science" among many others teenage movies from the 1980's. In the 1990's he wrote and produced "Home Alone" series and directed one last movie "Curly Sue" (1991) and then he almost disappeared from Hollywood movie business, didn't directed anymore and wrote a few screenplays under the name of Edmond Dantes ("Drillbit Taylor" was his last). The creators of this documentary divided it in two paths: 1) Their chase after Hughes with a behind the scenes thing showing why did they like Hughes's movie, it's influence on people and interviews with anonymous teenagers and other people; 2) Interviews with actors and directors who worked with Hughes such as Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Andrew McCarthy, Ilan-Mitchell Smith (he's a teacher now), Alan Ruck and many others; critics like Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper are also interviewed and Simple Minds lead singer Jim Kerr (who sangs Don't You Forget About Me, the theme song of "The Breakfast Club"); and fans of his work such as directors Jason Reitman and Kevin Smith. The first segment is not interesting in some points, they're always arguing about what they're going to do if they have the chance to meet John Hughes face to face, and their conversations are not real enough, sounds like acting. The second segment is far more interesting with all the famous people talking about Hughes's influence, how he was as a person, a brilliant and talented man that talked not only with the 1980's generation but with all generations. Some things that bothered me: This documentary only labels Hughes as a director of teenage movies. Wrong! His most funniest comedy was "Planes Trains & Automobiles" and it don't have any teenager in it. By the way: this movie isn't mentioned by any famous interviewed (Howard Deutch mentioned a behind the scenes event about it and that's it, not even a scene was showed, same thing happens with "Curly Sue") and not even for his die-hard fans directors of this documentary. "Planes Trains & Automobiles" is incredibly funny, you can watch it over and over and die laughing because it's all that funny, and yet you might cry at the end because of its powerful emotion. It's my favorite from Hughes. All the time people were saying "Ferris Bueller Day-Off" was their favorite and this statement was actually annoying (I won't talk about it because actually I don't like it so much as other people do). At last but certainly not least the fact that the group won't meet Hughes. It's the same thing as trying to talk with J.D. Salinger, impossible. He walked out of movie business because he wasn't appreciated as he deserved it and Hollywood changed how teenage movies were and he didn't want it to follow in this path because he wanted to make his own films in his own way. There's a lot of criticism about today's movies are in the documentary that sounded quite strange. Teenagers criticizing Hollywood for not making more movies like "The Breakfast Club" and "trashing "American Pie" or similar? So this filmmakers managed to talk with a minority. I think that Hollywood is destroying all kinds of movies and yes the teenagers are not being portrayed like they really are but if you take a look on the moviegoers most of them it's teens, and most of them go watch the box-office hit. Contradictory! For those who doesn't know who John Hughes was it's a invitation to know more about him. If you like his films watch it and take a different perspective on his films and his legacy. We miss you, John! Films are never going to be same without you!