You Think You Know Andrew McCarthy, But You Don't

I always wondered what happened to Andrew McCarthy.  You know, the actor arguably most famous as the object of Molly Ringwald’s affection in Pretty in Pink.

Even as a huge John Hughes fan, the movie Pretty in Pink wasn’t necessarily a big favorite of mine, nor was St. Elmo’s Fire, which may be McCarthy’s other most well-known role (sorry, I totally bypassed Weekend at Bernie’s in my viewing history).  Outside of that, I have to use Google to remind myself which films McCarthy has made during his career, but this really isn’t meant as a shot toward the actor himself.  Simply how he wasn’t one of my favorite Brat Packers (a label I believe they all eschew), so I never really kept up.  I remember him popping up as the “white guy” in The Joy Luck Club and some Hallmark Channel movie he filmed with Teri Polo, but overall I’m not really that familiar with his films.

A few years back I was thrilled to see his “comeback” when he was in the cast of the TV show Lipstick Jungle, but that, too, didn’t last very long.  Somewhere along the road I heard that he had become a travel writer, but not being one to read travel magazines, I once again gave it very little thought.  

Then a few months ago I hunted him up on Twitter. I like Twitter for finding celebrities that might not be quite in the brightest spotlight anymore, people that I love still because they remind me of my youth, people that keep me entertained.  Andrew McCarthy doesn’t tweet that much, but he does now and again, so I’ve stuck around.  

Late last year I recall he was out on some of the chat shows hawking a book he had written.  I watched a few of the interviews and thought, “Some day I’ll pick up this book”, but it took me a while to go hunting.  A couple of weeks back I finally, after living here more than a year, went to the local library and got my card.  Immediately I went hunting in the biography section and found his book - The Longest Way Home: One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down - along with Molly Ringwald’s Getting the Pretty Back. 

 

 

While certainly an interesting read at times, Molly’s book was a pretty quick read and not a biography at all, so it was definitely misfiled in the stacks.  Her book is more of a few random bits of her life interspersed with Molly’s tips on fashion and makeup and lifestyle.  Again, not uninteresting, but I’ve read enough books that tell me what I should or should not eat/do/think/wear that I’m really over it. I read it and it rolls right over me and I go back to wearing my beloved Converse Looney Tunes low tops with Daffy Duck on one side and neon flowers on the other.

Andrew’s book, however, really touched me.  He is a truly engaging and wonderful writer. His stories don’t make me want to scale Mt. Kilimanjaro as he did, but I found myself truly relating to a lot of what he was writing about himself.  This book details his quest to find himself and open himself up to his impending marriage with his long-time partner (and now-wife), whom he refers to as “D” (her name is actually Dolores).  He tells stories of his travels and of his life and weaves it all together so that the reader sees and understands where he is coming from.  I felt as if I was with him floating on the boat down the Amazon River or sweltering in the Baltimore heat, but more than that, I felt a connection to the writer (he bills himself first as a writer and second as an actor) and saw myself in things he revealed about himself. Not to go into too much detail, but McCarthy paints a picture of himself as a lifelong loner and when reading about that, I kept thinking, “This is me. This is so me.”  Because it is.  

He gives being a writer top billing, over acting.  That's telling to me.

I operate quite a bit on my own.  I always have.  As a little girl, there were 3 little boys and one little girl in my neighborhood, so I learned to play by myself and be ok with it. I think that is part of why I always want to have a TV on in the house as background noise – because when I was a kid I would be playing with my Barbies or doing something or other, but I would have the TV in my room on with whatever sitcom was in syndication and the noise made me feel like I was not alone.

I related to things in this book like the need to get away from other people and be on my own.  This pull that has you getting up and sneaking out, just to get away.  Just so many things he wrote about I could see in me. 

I wish I could truly describe how good this book was, how much I really enjoyed it, but nothing I say will do it justice. I can only suggest that you run out and get a copy to read for yourself.  Because you may think you know Andrew McCarthy, but you don’t. However, it seems that the man clearly knows himself and we are better for his sharing.

Now Read This: "You Couldn't Ignore Me if You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation"

Like any self-respecting child of the 80s, I have a great and lasting affection for John Hughes and the movies that made him mega-famous for bringing the teenage experience to the big screen.  When I first heard about this book nearly a year ago, I knew I had to have it and immediately hopped on Amazon.com and ordered it.  And then I finally finished reading it tonight. Nearly a year later.


For someone soooo excited about this book, it took me forever to read it and I'm still not sure why. The book was very interesting and engaging, but I could only manage about a chapter a month.  Maybe it was because I really wanted to concentrate on each chapter. Or maybe it's because I'm a slacker and slow reader. LOL Either way, I'm glad I finally finished.

Me, circa...maybe 1987?

While some chapters do touch on John Hughes himself and his movies after the "Brat Pack" years, it's those teen films that I was most interested in reading about.  Each film has a chapter of its own.  My personal favorite is Some Kind of Wonderful, in no small part I am sure to the fact that when it was released during my sophomore year of high school, many people at my school thought that I looked like Mary Stuart Masteron's character "Watts". I still say it was mostly about the short, blond hair, but hey, it was a compliment, so I'll take it!

My doppleganger?

What I want to do now is go back and watch each of the movies and then re-read the chapter about it to see what new information and insight I can pick up.  A tidbit that I found interesting while reading the chapter on Say Anything involves actor Eric Stoltz.  He was/is apparently friends with writer/director Cameron Crowe and wanted to work on this film in some way and offered to be a production assistant. So even after having starred in films, he was happily running around fetching coffee and such for the folks on set.   The reason that stood out to me is that now Eric Stoltz seems to be directing more than acting.  He's done guest spots on Grey's Anatomy, but I see his name pop up as a director there more frequently, as well as on the other Shonda Rhimes shows Private Practice and Off the Map.  It just shows the connection and development of his career path. Or maybe I just like to read into the minutia of things!

I definitely recommend this book to any child of the 80s or any fan of the teen movie genre that hit its stride back in the 80s.  It was fun to read the thoughts of various actors who were in the films and to learn about the genesis of the "Brat Pack" nickname.  I remember it being used back in the day, but I never knew just how it came about (read the book and find out for yourself!!).  Now I just hope it doesn't take me another year to watch the movies and do a re-read.

Sometimes life is like a John Hughes movie

I spent some time (much too little time, by the way) with some of my best friends this weekend. We go back to high school, though some of us haven’t become that close really until the past few years. Regardless, we all knew each other “when”. “When” our clothes were questionable, “when” some of our hair defied the laws of gravity, and “when” making stupid choices about which boys you dated was par for the course. Every time we are together I learn something new about who dated whom back in the day. What an incestuous little group we had! Yowza!

A few of us were able to get together to surprise my friend Renee in honor of her 40th birthday. She’s the one leading the charge into our 40s and over the next year we have to figure out how in the heck to surprise any of the rest of us. I strongly suggested finding a way to get me a personal meeting with David Bryan, which isn’t as far of a stretch as you might think since a guy from high school with whom Renee is still really good friends is in the musical Memphis on Broadway. Written, of course, by my beloved Dave. So I’ve got those 2 or 3 degrees of separation, but I’m not sure my heart could take it if I met him. I’d scream like a tweenage girl does over Justin Beiber. And that’s scary. But if that DOES happen, ladies, please remember to get it all on video because I’m sure it would be a sight to behold if I ever managed to regain my composure and stop babbling like an idiot.

Anyway, while we were all chatting in Renee’s kitchen, she was relaying to another friend of hers who had joined in the fun about what happened to me last week, when I got an apology from the boy who broke my heart back in high school. She was telling her friend that it was like something out of a movie; not something that happens in real life. And she said that she wishes SHE could get an apology from her guy who fits that description from high school.

That got me to thinking that in many ways Renee was right. It was something that you think only happens in a John Hughes 80s teen movie where the boy realizes he was a jackass and goes after the girl, if only to tell her that he’s sorry. Cue some song by OMD or Spandau Ballet, throw in Molly Ringwald and you’ve got yourself a hit!

As a John Hughes junkie, I like the thought of having my own personal JH moment. And then, I realized in an embarrassment of riches, I actually had another one of those moments because my prom date was really my Jake Ryan. My date to the junior prom was the boy that all the girls were swooning over that year. Just such a cutie patootie in addition to being smart and ridiculously nice. In fact, he still is. I’m currently awaiting the arrival of their annual family Christmas card with pictures of “Jake” and his wife and kids. It’s always too frickin’ cute and I am always happy when it arrives. (ETA: The card arrive today! Sweet!)

But yeah, “Jake” (who if you know me personally you totally know this guy’s real name, BUT DON’T USE IT FOR CRYIN’ OUT LOUD ) was my big crush back in high school so getting asked to Prom by him was quite the teenage coup. Plus, my dress was fab and we both looked great. I still have the dress, though I’m not sure what I will ever do with it. I just can’t bear to part with it.

It seems truly like an embarrassment of riches to have gotten my date with my “Jake” AND to have gotten that 23-years-overdue apology. If you follow a John Hughes train of thought, I guess the apology game from my John Bender – the rebel with bigger problems than anyone realized who most likely did drive my parents nuts in the brief time we dated, just like Bender thought he’d be great for Claire to use to make HER parents nuts.

I guess now I need to find the Keith to go with my Watts (“Some Kind of Wonderful” for those not up on the JH universe) and make him realize that he really doesn’t want Amanda Jones. That girls with the short blond hair are just way, way cooler and look great wearing his future.