Parents Just Don't Understand

 God how I miss John Hughes.

If you wonder about that name, sounds familiar but you can't quite place it, then you probably don't share my feelings on this matter. If you are familiar with Ferris Beuller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and the phrase "Brat Pack," then you might go along with me here. It should be noted from the outset that I had aged out of the prime demographic for those films, but still in contact with the emotional highs and lows of my teenage years. And very clear on the concept of "mom and dad are gone for the weekend, let's throw a rager."

Which is pretty much the backbone of most of the films of John Hughes. Ferris Beuller's Day Off is about skipping school to party like a rock star. Sixteen Candles moves from the Freshman Dance to a rich kid's house that gets destroyed by a horde of "friends" who drop by to celebrate the absence of parental authority. Pretty In Pink moves around a void of parental authority, with the exception of a hangdog Harry Dean Stanton who just wants to make his daughter's prom experience one she will remember. Weird Science has something to do with layering Frankenstein over the top of Sixteen Candles, and Breakfast Club is about spending a day in a high school library and having a party even though they're all in detention. Common thread: Party.

I wondered what John Hughes would make of the story of Adrian Lopez, a seventeen year old from Eastvale, California. Adrian figured he would promote his birthday bash via social media. And then a friend picked up on the lack of likes and pushed it into the realm of Tik Tok and Snapchat. Somewhere along the line, Adrian's Kickback became the sort of thing for which Al Gore created the Internet. Suddenly it was everywhere and kids from across the country selected his get together as the place to be. He and his friends tried to get out in front of it, selecting a larger venue and getting sponsorship, selling tickets. But on Saturday night, a horde of humans under twenty years old poured into Huntington Beach, looking for the party. Chaos ensued. 

And if it had been a John Hughes movie, the police would have been fooled and the only people hurt were nameless extras and Adrian would have gotten to make out with the prettiest girl in school. This would have been a happy ending. Instead, none of the alternative events planned ever officially came off. Police dispersed the crowds, and Adrian's friends now believe he has a career as "an influencer." Just as soon as he cleans up the mess from that wild night. And writes a screenplay about it. Featuring Molly Ringwald and James Spader as "the parents."