WISE Score
Avg. Tomatometer
An artsy outcast blows his college fund on a diamond necklace to impress a popular girl while his drum-playing best friend piningly watches from the sidelines.
776%
55
This is essentially John Hughes 'fixing' the ending of Pretty in Pink. It’s a grounded, moody, and surprisingly stylish teen romance that values the 'outsider' perspective without being too preachy about it.
While the 80s hair and fashion are loud, the emotional core—feeling invisible to the person you love while someone else is invisible to you—is timeless. It’s a solid choice for a movie night with a teen who feels like they don't quite fit the 'popular' mold.
Best for 13 and up. It’s a high school movie made for high schoolers. Younger kids will likely be bored by the romantic pining, but the themes of social exclusion will resonate with anyone entering middle school.
It handles teen longing and social hierarchies with a decent amount of heart. While there is plenty of high school posturing and some light bullying, the core message centers on loyalty and self-respect.
It is a standard high school romance, but the protagonist's identity as an artist and the unique 'tomboy' archetype of Watts provide more flavor than your average 80s teen flick.
Typical 80s PG-13 content. There is some swearing, teen drinking at a party, and a fistfight, but nothing that would shock a modern middle schooler. No explicit nudity or gore.
Excellent for discussing class dynamics, the pressure to 'climb' social ladders, and the difference between infatuation and genuine friendship.
John Hughes wrote the screenplay for Some Kind of Wonderful as a direct response to the ending of Pretty in Pink. In the original cut of that film, Molly Ringwald’s character was supposed to end up with her nerdy best friend, Duckie. Test audiences hated it, so she ended up with the 'richie' instead. Hughes was reportedly so annoyed by this that he wrote Some Kind of Wonderful to ensure the outsider finally got the girl (or the guy).
What makes this film stand out in the 2026 landscape isn't just the nostalgia; it's the character of Watts. In an era where female characters were often defined by their proximity to prom dresses, Watts is a revelation. She's tough, she's a musician, and she's unapologetically herself.
The film does a better job than most of its contemporaries at showing the friction between social classes. Keith isn't just 'uncool'; he's a blue-collar kid whose father is obsessed with him going to a good college to escape their lifestyle. When Keith 'blows it' on a date, the stakes feel real because we know exactly how many hours of work that money represents.
It’s a great companion piece to modern coming-of-age stories because it shows that while the technology changes (no smartphones here, obviously), the anxiety of trying to bridge the gap between who you are and who you want to be is exactly the same.
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