Some Kind of Wonderful, the 1987 bittersweet teen romance by John Hughes, is being re-released as part of Paramount's I Love the 80's Collection. I had never seen the film, so it was a treat seeing it. Keith (Eric Stolz) is a quiet loner who spends his time sketching pictures of his major crush, the school's hottest chick Amanda (Lea Thompson). Keith's best friend and confidante is Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson), an offbeat drummer chick who doesn't have much of a home life, and secretly loves Keith. When things go sour between Amanda and her rich boyfriend, Hardy (Craig Sheffer), Keith steps in to save the day and Amanda agrees to go out with him to get out of an awkward situation with Hardy. Once Watts realizes that Keith is actually pursuing Amanda and that it was not just a foolish crush, her heart is broken because she realizes that even though she loves Keith, he can't see it.

Hardy tries to win Amanda back, despite cheating on her continually with a tart named Mia (a really young Chynna Phillips). When he realizes that she is actually going to stick with Eric and she is not doing it as simply a joke or to get back at him, he and her rich friends decide to alienate her and ruin her rep around school, since Amanda is actually from the wrong side of the tracks, but her great looks have allowed her to hang with the "in" crowd.

Things start to get crazy when Hardy throws a wild party and invites Keith to bring Amanda, actually intending to beat the crap out of him once he arrives, hoping Amanda will help him with the ploy. Although Keith discovers the plot, he still goes to the party after showing Amanda a truly wonderful evening, so he can finally stand up to Hardy the jerk. What happens when their worlds collide, along with some of Keith's rough friends that he met in detention, is truly hysterical. Of note is Elias Koteas (Casey Jones from TMNT) as one of his really funny skinhead friends, and Candace Cameron (Full House) as Keith's little sister. Both of those characters steal the show every time they take the screen.

Of course, Some Kind of Wonderful has a sweet and happy ending and is a really nice slice of the 80's. The hair, the clothes and this John Hughes production are all icons of the generation that gave us some of the best teen movies. Some Kind of Wonderful is sweet and while not the best teen movie from that decade, it's a fun blast from the past. Also, as an added incentive, there's a free CD enclosed with every I Love the 80's DVD that has 4 iconic songs from the time. "Lips Like Sugar" by Echo & the Bunnymen, "Take on Me" by a-ha, "Chains of Love" by Erasure and "Need You Tonight" by INXS. Although I really wish there were different songs enclosed with each DVD, it's still a nice extra. If you are an 80's fan, you might want to add this classic to your collection.