Eric Stolz is awesome as a taller but just as cute Michael J. Fox.
This is a typical John Hughes film. Lots of teenage angst, an underdog, a faithful sidekick, an unattainable love interest who isn't so unattainable once you scratch the surface, and an impossibly handsome bad guy with money.
In Pretty in Pink, rich guy Andrew McCarthy likes poor girl Molly Ringwald, and ends up with her. Molly's boy pal, Duckie adores her, but unexpectedly ends up with Kristy Swanson (holy shit omg).
Some Kind of Wonderful is kind of the opposite, but with a happier (or at least fairer) ending - Eric Stolz's gal pal, Mary Stuart Masterson adores him and unexpectedly ends up with him. Poor boy Eric likes rich girl Lea Thompson, but despite their having lots in common and enjoying each other's company, he ultimately chooses to run off with Mary instead in a fit of plot-driven insanity. I bet he wishes that Charlie Sheen could've happened along and danced with Mary like Kristy did for Duckie. Lea > Mary in this movie.
I actually went to school with people this messed up, but I've never met a guy as bad as the rich, handsome antagonist in this film. Only one person I've ever met had no redeeming qualities, and Mary Stuart Masterson (the faithful sidekick) inexplicably reminded me of him.
There's a <sarcasm>completely unexpected</sarcasm> twist in the tail of this film, and when it leapt up to bite me in the tear ducts at the very end, I just couldn't stop thinking about this piss-ant little shit that I went to school with. A smokin' hot Lea Thompson is right there in your arms, desperate to blow you because of the wonderful night you've both shared! Please. Oh my god please! Do. Not. Chase. THE LESBIAN!
Apparently Hughes was pressured to complete Pretty in Pink with Molly Ringwald ending up with the rich guy, not her best friend (rumor is that they even shot the other ending) and he was so pissed off that he went on to make Some Kind of Wonderful so he could get the ending he wanted.
Crew
Wow! Seriously? He would hardly have needed to change the script at all. Well played, that man.
I was a bit disappointed for Duckie in Pretty in Pink. The ending was a bit trite considering the amount of investment he'd made.
He was a frankly annoying character, though (as is Watts, in Some Kind of Wonderful), so it makes sense that Andie (Ringwald) would never entertain the idea of dating him. He's an embarrassment. What was Kristy Swanson thinking? (BTW, on IMDB, she's credited as 'Duckette'. Awesome.)
It comes back to the fact that Watts has nothing to offer, except loyalty and love. She's a puppy dog, but an insufferably bitchy one. Despite your personal preferences regarding Mary Stuart Masterson and Lea Thompson, it's stated explicitly in the film several times that Watts is less desirable. They mock her body, her clothes and her hair. She frequently demonstrates that she's conscious of being physically inferior to Amanda Jones (Lea Thompson).
The idea that Keith (Eric Stolz) would throw over the perfect and hard-won Amanda for the pesky, bitchy, whiny and unattractive Watts is pretty far fetched.
There's an interesting message, told twice in this film - if you want something enough, you'll get it if you just whine and bitch and carry on. The object of your desire will fall at your feet as soon as you stop caring. I'm not sure it's a healthy message.
Related: watch the Miss Representation documentary! All about the representation of women in the media: archetypes, behavior patterning etc.
Crew
There is some pretty intense male chauvinism in this film. The girls yum that shit up. Watts even tells Keith that Amanda probably loves being cheated on by her nasty boyfriend. 1987 was an interesting time for feminism. Watts tells a would-be suitor that "This is 1987. Women can be anything they want." He replies "I know. My mother's a plumber."
How did we get from there to where we are now?
To be honest, after watching that doco last night, I would argue we've gone backwards :-(
Most (US) legislation for equal rights, pay etc were done in the 1960s. Nothing changed, legally, since about 1973.
Crew
That doesn't sound like a very balanced documentary. Is it one of Mike Moore's?
Anecdotally, I'd say that women in our culture are shown more respect now than they were in the 60s and 70s, and even the 80s. That's not to say that it's a solved problem...
In both films the most important women get who THEY want and the guy pretty much goes along for the ride, so to speak. Personally I thought MSM wasn't undesirable, but Lea was smoking hot. How my namesake could not chose Lea is a travesty, but I still like the film a lot.