Plot
High school senior Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) is a working-class girl who has a crush on one of the rich, preppie boys in her school, Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy). When Andie and Blane try to get together, they encounter resistance from their respective social circles.
Andie lives on "the wrong side of the tracks" with her unemployed father, Jack (Harry Dean Stanton). Andie's best friend, Phil "Duckie" Dale (Jon Cryer), is in love with her, but plays it off as a joke in front of her. In school, he and Andie are harassed by Blane's friends, the arrogant so-called "richie" kids Benny (Kate Vernon) and Steff (James Spader).
Andie works at TRAX, a New Wave record store in the Chinatown neighborhood, managed by her older friend and mentor Iona (Annie Potts). Iona advises Andie to go to her senior prom despite not having a date.
Blane makes a move, chatting with her in the computer lab, and Andie is smitten. Blane ventures out to the area at school where the punks, metalheads, and New Wavers hang out and asks Andie on a date.
On the night of the date, Andie waits for Blane at TRAX, but he is late. When Blane finally arrives, Duckie and Andie argue. Duckie tries to convince her that Blane will only hurt her. After a few harsh words, Duckie storms out, and Andie goes on her date.
Blane suggests going to a party Steff is throwing but the party is not what Blane expected, and Andie is treated poorly by everyone, including a drunk Steff and Benny. Andie, in turn, suggests going to the local club, where they discover Iona sitting with Duckie, who never gets in. Duckie is hostile toward Blane, and as he and Andie start walking out of the club, Duckie kisses a startled Iona to make Andie feel jealous.
Blane offers to take Andie home, but she refuses, admitting she doesn't want him to see where she lives. She eventually allows him to drop her off and he asks her to the prom. Andie accepts and they share their first kiss.
At home, Jack surprises her with a pink dress he bought for her at the thrift shop. Questioning how he was able to afford it, Andie discovers he has been faking going to a full-time job. The two fight until Jack breaks down, revealing that he is still bitter and depressed about his wife having left him.
Meanwhile Blane, pressured by Steff, begins distancing himself from Andie. Finally, Andie confronts him for avoiding her at school and not returning her calls. Blane then claims that he'd already asked somebody to the prom but had forgotten, and Andie calls him a "filthy, fucking, no-good liar". She then accuses him of being ashamed of being seen with her because his friend would not approve. She runs away while Blane protests that she does not understand, and it has nothing to do with her. As Blane leaves, Steff again offers criticism of Andie. Duckie overhears this and attacks Steff in the hallway. The two fight before teachers break them up and Duckie runs off, tearing down a prom banner in the process.
Andie finds Iona preparing for a date. Iona is already thinking about marriage. Iona's newly found happiness inspires Andie. She decides to attend the prom, to "show them they didn't break me." Using both Iona's prom dress and the thrift shop dress her father bought her, she creates a new pink dress to wear to the prom.
When she gets to the prom, she has second thoughts about braving the crowd on her own. Just as it looks like she may back out, she sees Duckie. They walk into the ballroom hand in hand. When Steff begins mocking the couple, Blane finally realizes that Steff resents Andie because, although Steff had tried to get with Andie, she refused, which was something Steff was not used to. Blane finds the courage to tell Steff off, and approaches Andie and Duckie. He shakes Duckie's hand and confesses to Andie that he always believed in her, he just didn't believe in himself. Duckie concedes that Blane is not like the other rich kids at school and advises Andie to go after him.
Outside of the prom, Andie catches up with Blane in the parking lot, and they kiss passionately in front of his car.
Read more about this topic: Pretty In Pink
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