Plot
Jake and Kristy Briggs are newlyweds. Being young, they are perhaps a bit unprepared for the full reality of marriage and all that it (and their parents) expect from them...

Release Year: 1988

Rating: 5.5/10 (5,827 voted)

Director: John Hughes

Stars: Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth McGovern, Alec Baldwin

Storyline
Jake and Kristy Briggs are newlyweds. Being young, they are perhaps a bit unprepared for the full reality of marriage and all that it (and their parents) expect from them. Do they want babies? Their parents certainly want them to. Is married life all that there is? Things certainly aren't helped by Jake's friend Davis, who always seems to turn up just in time to put a spanner in the works.

Cast:
Kevin Bacon - Jake Briggs
Elizabeth McGovern - Kristy Briggs
Alec Baldwin - Davis McDonald
James Ray - Jim Briggs
Holland Taylor - Sarah Briggs
William Windom - Russ Bainbridge
Cathryn Damon - Gayle Bainbridge
Reba McKinney - Grandmother
Bill Erwin - Grandfather
Paul Gleason - Howard
Dennis Dugan - Bill
Anthony Mockus Sr. - Minister
John Ashton - Ken
Larry Hankin - Hank
Edie McClurg - Lynn

Taglines: A comedy about the labours of love

Release Date: 5 February 1988

Filming Locations: 56 Salem Lane, Skokie, Illinois, USA

Opening Weekend: $3,827,520 (USA) (7 February 1988) (925 Screens)

Gross: $16,031,707 (USA)

Runtime: 106 min

Trivia:
Cathryn Damon's final role.

Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When Jake kisses his wife goodbye, comes down the sidewalk, stumbles, and falls, a blue pad to protect his knees is clearly visible on the sidewalk.

Quotes:
Grandmother: [before Jake and Kristy's wedding] He's too young and he's too immature. She's a golddigger.
Grandfather: There's little or no gold to be dug. He's plenty old and people don't mature anymore. They stay jackasses all their lives.

A Classic of the Era

Rating: 10/10

I actually saw this film in the theaters (one of a handful of people in the world, I believe). Most people weren't prepared for John Hughes to break into more grown-up fare after his successful films about teens (Ferris Bueller, Pretty in Pink, etc.), and this film's failure (along with the failure of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles) forced Hughes into making commercially successful but artistically bankrupt crap like Home Alone.

Although I was in college when the film came out, I instantly fell in love with the story of this fictionalized version of Hughes own early married life. Kevin Bacon did some of his best work in this film, and Elizabeth McGovern is simply radiant as the "she" of the title. Alec Balwdin is thin and disgusting as the "best friend" who has an unrequited lust for his pal's wife.

Filled with surreal moments (which are par for the course today, in shows like Scrubs) where Bacon's character imagines his response (or the response of others) to various situations, several stand out. The wonderful suburban lawnmower scene, the moment when he imagines his in-laws giving sex advice ("Get your butt a little higher, Jake!"), etc.

As a young father, I have felt everything Jake felt as they ventured into parenthood. Fear, wonder, and a weird sense of losing your wife's body to something you don't quite understand. And as funny as the film is, it is also quite poignant at moments and full of heart.

The use of classic late 80's bands (a Hughes specialty) is excellent and quite extensive. Gene Loves Jezebel, Love and Rockets, XTX, Bryan Ferry, Everything But the Girl, and Kate Bush (whose song is used most effectively to tug at heart strings) are all used to highlight, comment on, and bring the story to life.

Highly recommended and easily Hughes' most heartfelt film.

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