Tube Notes
By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service
Today's Must-See
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986), 5 a.m.; "The Breakfast Club" (1985), 7 a.m.; "Some Kind of Wonderful" (1987), 9 a.m.; "Sixteen Candles" (1984), 11 a.m.; all on TNT. Wake up early, Hawai'i, it's a John Hughes teen-movie festival. In the 1980's, the name of director/producer John Hughes somewhere in the credits of a film was like an official stamp of "cool" approval for teenagers. Before making Macauley Culkin a star in kid flicks like "Home Alone" that would mark his '90s output, Hughes made teen comedies that defined a generation. "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" (both directed by Hughes) introduced us to Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall, and featured enough teen angst to fill a dozen Smiths albums. "Ferris Bueller" puts the angst on the back burner and is highlighted by a brilliant comic performance by Matthew Broderick. "Some Kind of Wonderful" (written and produced by Hughes) is a lesser twist on a far better Hughes production, "Pretty In Pink," saved by bittersweet performances by Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson and Mary Stuart Masterson. All four films are wonderful.
Of Note
"Field of Dreams" (1989), 3 p.m., TNT. A great baseball movie starring Kevin Costner.
"Jaws" (1975), 5 p.m., AMC. Stephen Spielberg's gripping shark film is back — just in time to keep us from enjoying any seaside vacations.
"AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER" (2002), 5 p.m., Starz. The third flick in this Mike Myers trilogy, we wouldn't dare divulge its countless celebrity cameos — many of them an impressive testament to the popularity and comic pedigree of this terrific film franchise.
"Ice Age" (2002), 6 p.m., HBO. This pleasant film will tickle kids while adding enough wit to keep grown-ups watching. It's a computer animated wonder with three creatures (voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary) protecting a human baby.
"Carrie," 7 p.m., NBC. If you missed this recent TV movie, here's a quick rerun. The original film was made in 1976 by Brian De Palma. It ran a tidy 97 minutes, and is considered a horror classic. The new version has more time to follow the psychological details of Stephen King's story. Angela Bettis plays a teen, shunned by her peers, who finds that she has fierce telekinetic powers. Patricia Clarkson is her fanatical mother.
