MOVIEVIBE ← Back to Home

Some Kind of Wonderful

1987 1h 35m
Romance Comedy
MOVIEVIBE Rating
6.9/10
560 reviews
Your Rating
Some Kind of Wonderful

Keith Nelson, an artsy high school outcast, tries to land a date with popular girl Amanda Jones with some help from his tomboy best friend, Watts. However, Watts realizes she likes Keith as more than just a friend and tries to convince him to stop pursuing Amanda. Matters are further complicated when Keith's invitation draws the ire of Amanda's rich yet snobby ex-boyfriend, Hardy Jenns, who makes plans to get even.

"Before they could stand together, they had to stand alone."

Top Billed Cast

Eric Stoltz
Eric Stoltz
Keith Nelson
Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson
Watts
Lea Thompson
Lea Thompson
Amanda Jones
Chynna Phillips
Chynna Phillips
Mia
Craig Sheffer
Craig Sheffer
Hardy Jenns
John Ashton
John Ashton
Cliff Nelson
Elias Koteas
Elias Koteas
Skinhead
Maddie Corman
Maddie Corman
Laura Nelson

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

J John Chard Verified TMDB Critic
2018-10-10

It must be a drag to be a slave to the male sex drive.

Keith Nelson, much to everyone else's surprise, lands a date with Amanda Jones, the most popular girl in school. But with Amanda comes trouble in the form of the ex-boyfriend, Hardy Jenns. A rich spoilt egotistical bully, Jenns plans to get back at Keith violently. While things are further complicated by the fact that Keith's best friend Watts is hopelessly in love with him, something that Keith is oblivious too. All roads, rocky or otherwise, are leading to one house party where lives are about to be changed.

Released a year after P...

W Wuchak Verified TMDB Critic
2019-07-27

***Working class boy, rich dream girl and faithful tomboy friend in Southern Cal***

Keith (Eric Stoltz) is a high school senior in Los Angeles wherein he fights with his little sister (Maddie Corman) and is pestered by his dad about going to college. He works at a gas station and his best friend is a tomboy, Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson), but he has his eyes set on a dream girl, Amanda (Lea Thompson). Craig Sheffer plays the rich stud nemesis, Hardy.

Writer John Hughes was known for those mid-80’s high school films, like “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in P...

J JPV852 Verified TMDB Critic
2021-02-18

After watching this, felt like a reverse version of Pretty in Pink only to find out afterward this was John Hughes's attempt to rectify the ending. I actually enjoyed this a lot more as I found the chemistry with the leads to be better (to me, Lea Thompson is an upgrade over Molly Ringwald). Eric Stoltz was great with both Thompson and Masterson.

Also had some fun subversion of expectations, particularly with Elias Koteas' punk character turning out to be an okay guy, plus John Ashton as the father was nice that he just wasn't the stereotypical jackass they tend to be in these teen movies.
...

F Filipe Manuel Neto Verified TMDB Critic
2024-04-05

**An adorable, cute and melodramatic teen romance.**

The film begins with a teenager who stands out for his artistic ability – he draws well and also paints – and his love of automobile mechanics. He is not rich and is jealous of his wealthier schoolmates. Is it a problem of lack of self-esteem? Maybe, but things get worse when he falls in love with a beautiful, rich girl with a handsome, rich, stupid boyfriend. From then on, he will use the money his parents saved to pay for college in an attempt to humiliate his rival and impress his beloved, with the help of a friend, a drummer and r...