Jake Ryan (RIP John Hughes)

Recent circumstances (the death of director John Hughes today at age 59) have swayed me to re-post the story about JAKE RYAN for The Washington Post in 2004, one of the stories I’ve received the most mail on, ever.

UPDATE: You can now read it on washingtonpost.com, which has revived it and reposted it. See link below.

Real Men Can’t Hold A Match to Jake Ryan Of ‘Sixteen Candles’

By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer

(Originally published on Feb. 14, 2004. (c) The Washington Post)

Listen to all the Thompson Twins songs you want, but let’s finally admit that Jake Ryan from “Sixteen Candles” is never coming to get you.

Not in the red Porsche 944, and not wearing that Fair Isle sweater vest. Not with his shiny black hair moussed gently heavenward, not with his gooey brown eyes and square Matt Dillonesque jaw. He will not be standing there with his hands in the pockets of his 501 button-fly jeans (while leaning against said Porsche), and he will not be shyly waving at you from across the street. (“Yeah, you,” he mouths, just as in the movie, after you look behind you to see what girl he could possibly be interested in.)

Let’s be even more clear: Popular high school seniors don’t dump their cheerleader girlfriends with great bods so they can ask out a sophomore girl nobody notices. Jake did not actually do this, because he is not real.

This last fact has not stopped many, many women (and not a few men on the refreshment committee) from wishing there was such a thing as …

READ THE REST here. I’m a big believer that blogs should not crib and repost entire stories from news sites. Yes, even if I am the original author. Now that the Post has restored the article on its web site, please check it out there. Thanks!

3 Comments

  1. Judy Coode on August 6, 2009 at 6:10 pm

    John Hughes being 59 years old has shaken me. John Hughes dying I can handle, his aging to 59 is rough.

    Lisa Ling was quoted! (Forgot about that.) So much overlapping news …

  2. Compassionate Misanthrope on August 7, 2009 at 11:24 am

    YES!!!! Best unintentional birthday present evah!

  3. Rick Sayre on August 8, 2009 at 12:30 am

    Hank- I received an e-mail today asking about Michael Schoeffling’s whereabouts, despite the fact that my website on AOL has probably been gone for a few years and did a search. This article is still totally relevant- people still love Jake Ryan and still want to know more about Michael Schoeffling. Can’t believe John Hughes passed away. His work really touched a whole generation.

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