Pretty in Pink director confirms once and for all whether Duckie was gay
Duckie in Pretty in Pink (YouTube)
The director of 1980s teen classic Pretty in Pink has finally given a definitive answer on whether or not the character Duckie was actually gay.
Fans of the film, written by John Hughes, have long since speculated that the character – played by Jon Cryer – was gay.
And it wasn’t just fans peddling the theory. Molly Ringwald, who played Andie Walsh in the cult classic, has said she always saw him as gay too.
But the film’s director Howard Deutch has put the speculation to bed, saying he never saw Duckie as gay.
Pretty in Pink director Howard Deutch doesn’t think Duckie was gay.
When asked if the character was gay, Deutch told Yahoo Entertainment: “I don’t think that, but I mean I can see where some people could perceive it like that.”
He continued: “I don’t think he played it like that. I think he created an amazing character who’s endured for this much time for a reason.”
The character’s sexuality was brought into sharp focus in 2012 when Ringwald told Out magazine that Duckie was gay, but didn’t know it.
I don’t think that, but I mean I can see where some people could perceive it like that.
“I think he loves Andie in the way that [my gay best friend] always loved me,” she said. “That ending fell so flat – it bombed at all the screenings.
“I didn’t realise it then – I just knew that my character shouldn’t end up with him, because we didn’t have that sort of chemistry.
“If John [Hughes] was here now, and I could talk to him, I think that he would completely acknowledge that.”
Actor Jon Cryer said the character was not intended to be gay.
Cryer, meanwhile, was not convinced. The Two and a Half Men star responded to her comments at the time, saying: “No, she actually said that if one projected beyond the movie, that Duckie would be out by now. And I respectfully disagree.”
He added: “I want to stand up for all the slightly effeminate dorks that are actually heterosexual. Just cause the gaydar is going off, doesn’t mean your instruments aren’t faulty. I’ve had to live with that, and that’s okay.”
Pretty in Pink was famously supposed to end with Andie ending up with Duckie instead of Blane – but that ending was scrapped after it tanked at test screenings ahead of its release.
Reflecting on that moment, Deutch said he felt like he was going to have a heart attack when the audience reacted negatively to the pairing.
“They almost walked out, and I was [like], ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ The whole movie was built to have Jon Cryer end up with Molly.”
