You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried
By Susannah Gora
(Three Rivers Press, Paperback, 9780307716606, 384pp, Feb 2011)
The Short of It:
If you watch Sixteen Candles EVERY time it’s on, or if you’ve ever wished Duckie Dale ended up with Andie at the end of Pretty In Pink, then this is the book for you.
The Rest Of It:
I love this book. I bought it over a year ago for my Kindle and allowed myself to read tiny bits of it between basketball practice, tennis lessons and doctor’s appointments. It provided me with a year’s worth of joy. What IS it about the 80’s anyway? Is that decade particularly special, or is it just special to me because those were my high school years? I wonder sometimes.
Gora covers all the movies of that time…the Brat Pack films that include Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, just to name a few. With interviews of the key players and inside scoops on casting…You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried is basically a touching collection of memories. These young actors grew up to depict the characters of our youth, yet the issues they dealt with were authentic and often issues that they were struggling with in real life. The struggle for acceptance, the awkwardness, the angst… it’s all here.
What I especially love about this book is that Gora gives you all the behind-the-scenes info on casting, who was seeing who, how the directors and producers influenced these actors on a daily basis, etc. Just the bits on casting alone were fascinating. There was so much going on with these actors that it’s hard to imagine that the movies were ever made!
After each chapter, I found myself pulling out all of my DVDs and loading up my iPod with songs of that time. I just can’t say enough about the book. If you loved the 80’s, you simply have to read it. I will leave you with one of my favorite clips from Pretty in Pink. Click here to view it.
Source: Purchased
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Book Chatter 
Oh man, I gotta get this one! How lucky are we to have grown up in the 80’s? Loved it, still do!
I went to elementary school in the 80s and, either way, they were fun. I became a Brat Pack fan later in life and yes I do watch Sixteen Candles every time it’s on!! This sounds like a keeper for me!
Oh, and Duckie soooo should’ve gotten the girl in the end!
-L
I know lots of folks that pined over Blane… Andrew McCarthy was pretty cute, but Duckie had that innocent, lost boy sweetness. I knew a few folks that were just like Duckie and a few that were just like Blane. I’ll take a “Duckie” any day.
I loved this one too. I don’t know what it is about the 80s either. I didn’t appreciate the decade while it was happening, but my god does it seem like heaven now.
Heaven…makes me think of the Bryan Adams song. Sigh.
I love the 80’s too! That was the decade I was in college, dating, found my first apartment, found a real job, and bought my first “real” car, met my husband and got married. The music was fun and the movies were great. I though Andrew McCarthy was terribly cute….still do and I loved him in St. Elmo’s Fire. I have to find this book!
The book talks about how he almost didn’t get that part in St. Elmo’s Fire! Can you imagine?? It would have been a totally different movie.
I was married and had a baby in the 80’s so this may not be for me.
LOVE the 80’s. I was at Target last night and kept thinking… ahhh the 80’s are back 🙂
I have wanted to read The Murderer’s Daughter for a long time, almost picked up a copy last night. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
I’m putting this one on my wishlist…my older daughters will also enjoy it…they think they discovered the 80’s
This is already on my wishlist… I loved all John Hughes movies. We watched them religiously in my house. He started out in advertising (my parents knew him… my dad was also in advertising) and he filmed all of his movies in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs (where I was born). The church, at the end of Sixteen Candles, was up the street from my house. Of course, I was three when they filmed the “Me? Yeah You.” Scene, but you can bet that as I grew up I had the BIGGEST crush on Jake Ryan. 😉
I’m also a huge Duckie fan — LOVE that clip Ti. He was so great!
I also was completely smitten with Rob Lowe… I was too young to care that Billy was a terrible choice. My friend, Chuck, always says that I’m like Wendy from that movie. He means it as a compliment, but I always take it as an insult. Come on — scuba suit Wendy?! (Not that I don’t applaud the girl for being ahead of her time with the Spanx).
Wow! Your parents knew him? He seemed sort of the dark, brooding type but man could he write. I know he directed some of the films too. He just knew my generation so well.
Sent from my BlackBerry
Oops, after the “Me? Yeah you.” quote I didn’t mean to start another sentence. I’m sure you got my drift, but just in case that was confusing (good reminder to proofread before pressing “Post Comment” instead of after.
Sounds like a great trip down memory lane. Glad it gave you such pleasure.
I missed the 80’s while I walked around in the new mommy fog–and then the mommy of 2 babies fog! I have never seen Pretty in Pink or 16 Candles, but I have seen that clip and I love it! I love Jon Cryer too-. The 80’s do seem so tame compared to now!
*smiles*
This sounds like my kind of book! I love books about moviemaking history and their cultural impact, or even a biography of a favourite actor or director. I’m adding this to my TBR list–thanks for the recommendation! By the way, 1980s music rules my iPod 🙂
Anything on The Goonies and Back to the Future? I lost count of the times I saw them.
What about Say Anything with the young John Cusack… those were great movies 🙂
Say Anything is mentioned but mostly it hits on the films either written or directed by John Hughes. Back To The Future was a great flick, too.