Good night, John

I must admit, I was never a big John Hughes fan. Most of his movies were a little too schmaltzy for my taste. He was like a Frank Capra for the generation right behind mine. I will give him this, though: When we saw his generation was outgrowing what he was trying to sell, he just took his billions and retired as a filmmaker at the tender age of 41. He did continue to write, although I doubt many will want to remember him for his last idea, Drillbit Taylor.

I will also give him this: He had a great eye for discovering previously unknown talent. His films provided breakout vehicles for the likes of Matthew Broderick, Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Ally Sheedy, Macaulay Caulkin, John Cusack, Judd Nelson, Steve Carell, Lili Taylor, Bill Paxton and, of course, John Candy.

If I had to pick one Hughes film that I would want to be a part of my film library it would be Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a film critic Roger Ebert called "a funny movie, but also a surprisingly warm and sweet one." Of Hughes' more famous "teen" films, Ebert wrote: "He took teenagers seriously, and his films are distinctive for showing them as individuals with real hopes, ambitions, problems and behavior."