Films that defined a generation

Growing up seemed sweeter in the ’80s, as effectually portrayed in the films of John Hughes, a baby boomer who spent his formative years in Illinois.

His movies were also smarter.

The Library of Congress Packard Campus Theater on Mount Pony celebrates a return to sweet youth and all of its witty torment with a trio of Hughes’ flicks next month in Culpeper.

First, it’s “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” July 11, followed by “The Breakfast Club” showing July 17 and ending with “Sixteen Candles” on July 23. All three were written and directed by Hughes.

Such movies were a welcome antidote to other “more frivolous” choices from the time like “Teen Wolf” or “Porky’s,” said Mike Mashon, head of the LOC’s moving image section.

“Hughes excelled at the angst of the suburban teenager, and although the three films we’re featuring can be seen as nostalgia pieces (the clothes, the hair, the music) the themes are timeless,” he said.

Indeed, timeless is the heartbreak inflicted by impossibly cute boys like Jake Ryan (sigh) or the well-meaning humiliation only grandparents can cause. It’s hard being a teenage queen and turning 16, especially when everyone forgets about you.

But who can forget the motley crew of “The Breakfast Club” and how it pretty much defined a generation of boomerangs dying to establish its own identity? Ally Sheedy and Judd Nelson meet Molly Ringwald and Emilio Estevez on this day of detention and the discussion gets deep.

“Ferris Bueller” is the earliest of the iconic trio by Hughes, and another goodie — sibling rivalry at its best with a high school principal as mad as the hatter.

All public shows in the Packard Campus Theater are free.

Beginning in July, evening shows start at 7:30. Next month’s schedule also moves to Thursday nights. The theater on Mount Pony will be closed the first weekend in July in observance of Independence Day.

Make reservations Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. one week in advance of each show at (540) 827-1079 ext. 79994.

Coming soon:

July 9, 7:30 p.m. “Key Largo” (Warner Bros., 1948)

July 10, 7:30 p.m. “An American In Paris” (MGM, 1951)

July 11, 7:30 p.m. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (Paramount, 1986)

July 16, 7:30 p.m. “Chinatown” (Paramount, 1974)

July 17, 7:30 p.m. “The Breakfast Club” (Universal, 1985)

July 18, 2 p.m. “Seventh Heaven” (Fox Film Corp., 1927.), silent with musical accompaniment by Donald Sosin

July 23, 7:30 p.m., “Sixteen Candles” (Universal, 1985)

July 24, 7:30 p.m. “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (Columbia Pictures, 1964)

July 25, 7:30 p.m. “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” (Buster Keaton Productions, 1928), silent with live musical accompaniment by Ben Model

July 30, 7:30 p.m. “Under the Volcano” (Ithaca/Universal, 1984)

July 31, 7:30 p.m. “Mad Max” (Mad Max Films/AIP, 1979)
“The Road Warrior” (Kennedy Miller/Warner Bros., 1981)