This week we deviate yet again from our typical subject matter for the 'Girls on Film." segment, and for good reason: a Pretty in Pink (1986) era James Spader.
When revisiting that movie, what really stays with you? Andie's horrendous pink piecemeal prom dress? Yes, unfortunately. Ducky's rendition of "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding? Of course, happily. What really steals the show, however, is not Molly Ringwald's pouty pobrecita or Harry Dean Stanton's unshaven, bachelor dad. No, no. The most brilliant moment in that film is meeting James Spader's Steff sneering to Andie "You're a betch" as she rebuffs him, yet again. Spader's rendition of Steff was pure-fection, from his clean pressed linen suits and sockless loafers to his aloof jaunts down the hallway, not to mention the cigarette that perpetually rested betwixt his lips. How could poor, strung out Blaine ("that's not a name, it's a major appliance!") even hold a candle to him?
Here's to you James Spader, in your most brilliant hour.
xoxo COUNCIL
