As the holiday season commences, the works of John Hughes are bound to experience a resurgence in popularity. After all, he directed Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, one of the few Thanksgiving movies, and he was also a producer on Home Alone, another staple of the holidays.
Though he was known for many things, Hughes was particularly remarkable for the skill with which he created the figure of the lovable loser. These men (and women) were people who exist on the margins of their respective societies but who, nevertheless, manage to be warm and charming, ultimately worming their way into the viewer’s heart.
Cameron Frye (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is one of the most beloved movies of the 1980s. It has everything one could want from a John Hughes movie, including a lovable loser in the form of Cameron Frye. Cameron has long had to labor in the shadow of Ferris, who is infinitely cooler than he is.
However, Cameron also periodically shows a level of spirit during the movie. More to the point, though he is a loser, he is also someone who carries around a lot of pain, particularly regarding his father’s neglect. It’s no wonder that he manages to become another lovable John Hughes character.
Del Griffith (Planes, Trains, And Automobiles)
The late John Candy was in many great movies, and one of the best of his efforts was Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, in which he plays the gregarious but irritating Del Griffith. He is the prototypical Hughes loser: at once charming and yet insufferable, particularly compared to Steve Martin’s Neale Page.
As the movie goes on, however, it becomes clear that there is more to Del than meets the eye. His enduring love and loyalty to his late wife, in particular, endears him to the viewer and, ultimately, to the curmudgeonly Neale. The fact that he has actually been in a terrible situation the entire time just makes him all that much more sympathetic.
Gary Wallace (Weird Science)
Weird Science is another quintessential John Hughes movie, focusing on two nerdy losers who create a superwoman, who is both very powerful and extremely beautiful. One of the two losers, Gary Wallace, is played by Anthony Michael Hall, who built his career around playing such characters.
Gary is the ultimate Anthony Michael Hall loser, someone who both looks and acts the part. However, while he might be less-than-cool, he is still very lovable, and a lot of this can be attributed to Hall’s own unique brand of charisma.
Wyatt Donnelly (Weird Science)
Though not quite as well-known as Anthony Michael Hall, Ian Mitchell-Smith has still earned his place in the halls of pop culture fame for playing Gary’s friend Wyatt in Weird Science. It’s hard not to love Wyatt, as he seems as completely oblivious as Gary.
Like his friend, he seems to have no luck at all with members of the opposite sex. Just as importantly, he is also subjected to torment by the bullies of the school. Thus, it’s impossible not to love him, if for no other reason than that almost no one else seems to.
Uncle Buck (Uncle Buck)
Throughout his career, John Candy made it a point to create characters who, on the surface, don’t seem to have much going for them but gradually show many shades to their character. Uncle Buck is a very good example of this as, when the movie begins, he doesn’t seem to be able to hold down a job or do anything very responsible.
Slowly but surely, however, he manages to charm both his brother and the audience. There was something endearing about Candy’s way of performing his roles, a profound human warmth that shone out in every scene in which he appeared. Small wonder the world loved him.
Farmer Ted (Sixteen Candles)
Sixteen Candles is widely regarded as one of the best teen films, and a lot of this can be attributed to its cast. Among the many John Hughes’ stalwarts to appear is Anthony Michael Hall, who plays the character of Farmer Ted, also known as the Geek.
With his gangly appearance and pale complexion, this character is very much in line with the other lovable losers that Hall would play throughout the 1980s. It’s easy to see why Ted is so lovable. There is, as so often in Hughes’ films, something deeply human and authentic about him. He casts a spell that neither characters nor viewers can resist.
John Bender (The Breakfast Club)
The Breakfast Club is another iconic 1980s movie, and it is a fascinating cross-section of teenage life in the decade. In the high school hierarchy established in the film, John Bender is definitely the loser, as can be seen from the fact that he is known as “the Criminal.”
However, unlike so many other Hughes losers, he seems to be less apologetic about this particular status. What’s more, though he clearly revels in the chance to be an outcast, there are many layers to his personality, and it is strongly implied that his loser persona is, at least in part, a defense mechanism, which helps to explain why he remains so lovable.
Samantha Baker (Sixteen Candles)
Sixteen Candles' Samantha, like so many beloved John Hughes characters, has to contend with her fair share of setbacks. In particular, she has to deal with the reality that her whole love is overshadowed by her elder sister who, in the movie’s imagination, is far prettier and more glamorous than she is.
Though for a time Sam loves wallowing in her own misfortune, as the movie progresses she starts to seize control of her own destiny. Moreover, though she can be acerbic at times, Sam is one of those characters who is a genuinely good person, which makes it easier for the viewer to come to love her.
Duckie (Pretty In Pink)
Though Pretty in Pink wasn’t directed by Hughes, he did write the screenplay, and the film as a whole bears the stamp of his particular vision of teenage life. In this case, the lovable loser is the character Duckie, played by Jon Cryer.
As with the many other lovable losers of John Hughes’ work, Duckie is the object of torment from the other, richer kids at his school. There is, moreover, something sensitive about Ducky that makes him easy for the viewer to care about, and his status as the movie’s underdog solidifies his place as the object of viewer identification.
Marv
Home Alone is another John Hughes-written movie directed by another (in this case, Chris Columbus). In the film, one of the most notable losers is Marv, one of the criminals who tries to burgle Kevin’s home.
Obviously, he is one of the movie’s villains, but there is nevertheless something lovable about Marv. He’s just so bumbling, and yet so strangely earnest about his efforts to be a successful thief, that one almost can’t help but cheer for him, even with the awareness that he is going to be outwitted by the movie’s hero.