The film is set against the strict social hierarchy of an American public high school in suburban Los Angeles. Blue collar mechanic and aspiring artist Keith Nelson and his tomboyish friend Watts, who has been subjected to rumors that she is a lesbian, aspire to improve their social standing. When Keith asks out the most popular and attractive girl in school, Amanda Jones, Watts realizes her feelings for him are much deeper. With Watts' help, Keith sets about trying to plan the perfect date to prove he is worthy of Amanda. Watts tells Keith that Amanda will appreciate a good kisser, and shows Keith how to kiss. Keith is oblivious to Watts' attraction to him. He later uses his college fund, with Watts in tow, and selects a pair of earrings for Amanda. When Keith's father discovers that the college fund has been emptied, he is livid, but Keith ultimately convinces his father to respect his right to make his own decisions. Meanwhile, Hardy Jenns, Amanda's self-absorbed ex-boyfriend from a wealthy neighborhood, plots trouble for Keith by inviting him and Amanda to a party after their date. Hardy jealously plans to have Keith beaten up. Keith finds out about the plot, believing Amanda to be part of it, but goes ahead with the date anyway, spending the rest of his college money on an expensive dinner and roping in Watts to help make the date special. At Hardy's party, the timely arrival of other "misfits" saves Keith from taking a beating. Suddenly fearing for his safety, Hardy tries to talk his way out of his predicament. Amused, Keith tells Hardy he is "over," after which Amanda slaps Hardy's face. Amanda suddenly realizes that Keith and Watts have feelings for one another and realizes that, instead of her earlier selfishness, she wants to do the "right" thing. She returns the earrings that Keith gave to her and urges him to go after Watts. Keith, realizing that he is in love with his best friend, bids Amanda goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. Keith catches up to Watts and they kiss, whereupon Keith confesses to Watts that he had no idea how she really felt about him. Keith then gives Watts the earrings to a delighted Watts. Watts asks Keith how they look, and he replies, "You look good wearing my future."
Hughes was personally not happy with the ending of his previous film Pretty in Pink ; in the script and the original cut of the film Andy wound up with her best friend Duckie. Test audiences disliked that ending, however, so a new ending was shot where Andy wound up with Blane. Hughes was always unhappy with this version, which led to a falling out with Pink's director, Howard Deutch. With Some Kind of Wonderful, Hughes decided to re-tell the story, but with the genders of the main characters switched. Hughes named the three main protagonists—Keith, Watts, and Amanda Jones—as an inside-joke tribute to the Rolling Stones. Martha Coolidge was signed to direct Some Kind of Wonderful. Hughes wanted Molly Ringwald to play the female lead role of Watts, but she declined in order to pursue more adult roles. Hughes took this refusal personally and this led to the end of Hughes and Ringwald's working relationship. The role instead went to Mary Stuart Masterson. In addition to Masterson, Coolidge cast Eric Stoltz as Keith and Craig Sheffer as Hardy. At this point, Pretty in Pink was released and became a big hit. Hughes fired original cast members Kim Delaney, Kyle MacLachlan, and director Coolidge, and hired Deutch to direct. Deutch wanted to cast Michael J. Fox in the lead, but Fox turned down the role. Deutch offered Thompson the role of Amanda, but she initially turned him down; after the Thompson-starring Howard the Duck flopped at the box office, Thompson accepted the second offer to take the role. Ultimately, Thompson ended up marrying Deutch as well. The film was shot in Los Angeles in the summer of 1986. Locations include San Pedro High School, Hancock Park and the Hollywood Bowl.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 78% based on 41 reviews, with the site's consensus; "Some Kind of Wonderful is above-average '80s teen fare for people who need as much John Hughes in their lives as possible." On Metacritic the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on reviews from 16 critics, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A- on a scale of A to F. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film, calling it worthwhile and entertaining. Janet Maslin of The New York Times stated that Some Kind of Wonderful is the "much-improved, recycled version of the Pretty in Pink story". Richard Schickel of Time criticized the film for being unrealistic. Masterson's performance was singled out for praise by several critics.
