Andrew McCarthy knew immediately after reading the script that the original ending to the Pretty in Pink was going to be a disaster — and he wanted out.
In a recent interview with The New Yorker, the actor-director opened up about his time as an ’80s heartthrob who appeared in some of the decade’s most iconic films. One of those pictures was the John Hughes classic Pretty in Pink.
Starring alongside Molly Ringwald and Jon Cryer, McCarthy said he initially regretted signing on to do the film after reading the script and discovering the original ending in which Andie Walsh (Ringwald) does not end up with his character, Blane McDonough, whom she had fallen for over the course of the story.
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“I didn’t read the script until I was on the plane out to Los Angeles, and I was shocked that Blane turned out to be sort of spineless,” McCarthy told The New Yorker. “When I landed, I called [my agent] and said, ‘You’ve got to get me out of this movie! This guy’s a jerk. He’s just, like, a wimpy loser.’ And they said, ‘Honey, you read the script. You knew what it was.’ And I was, like, ‘Um … yeah, OK.’ So when we reshot it, the audience seemed to agree that it was better if they got together. It was a fairy tale, so it has to end in a certain way.”
The story goes that test screen audiences hated Andie and Duckie (Cryer) getting together so much that they booed. McCarthy recalled the first ending well, which is helpful, as footage has never surfaced.
“I showed up at the prom, alone, and Andie hooked up with Duckie, and they were together,” he said. “And I was just with some other rich girl on the other side of the room. The audience didn’t like that we didn’t get together when they did a test screening, so John rewrote it so that I go up to Molly and tell her, basically, ‘You’re wonderful. I’m a jerk. I’m sorry. I love you.’ And then we kiss in front of car headlights.”
