Wretched hives of scum and villainy

John Hughes' movies have several trademarks that attract a loyal audience: Great soundtracks, teen characters who act more like adults, actors who feel like the girl or boy next door, and deliciously evil villains that we love to hate.

Who's your favorite villain from a John Hughes movie? There are several from which choose. Leave a comment and we'll share them on our upcoming podcast on "Some Kind of Wonderful," which has my personal pick for best villain. Tune into the podcast to find out why.

STEFF
Movie: Pretty in Pink (1986)
Actor: James Spader
Also a villain in: Less Than Zero, Mannequin, Baby Boom.
Signature line: "The girl was, is and will always be nada."
Biggest crime: Trying to sabotage Blane's relationship with Andie; spitting blood in the school hallway.

HARDY JENNS
Movie: Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Actor: Craig Sheffer
Also a villain in: I can't think of any.
Signature line: "That's Hardy Jenns ... with TWO 'n's"
Biggest crime: Turning everyone against his ex-girlfriend, Amanda Jones; setting up Eric Stoltz to get beat up; breaking into the girls' locker room.

ED ROONEY
Movie: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Actor: Jeffrey Jones
Also a villain in: Who's Harry Crumb?
Signature line: "So THAT's how it is in their family."
Biggest crime: Breaking into the Bueller household; feeding Ferris' flowers to the family dog.

RICHARD VERNON
Movie: The Breakfast Club (1985)
Actor: Paul Gleason
Also a villain in: Trading Places, Johnny Be Good.
Signature line: "You think he's funny? You think this is cute? You think he's "bitchin," is that it? Let me tell you something. Look at him - he's a bum. You want to see something funny? You go visit John Bender in five years. You'll see how goddamned funny he is."
Biggest crime: Sentencing Bender to endless detentions.

CHET
Movie: Weird Science (1985)
Actor: Bill Paxton 
Also a villain in: Nothing I can think of.
Signature line: "How 'bout a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?"
Biggest crime: Blackmailing his little brother for his college money.

RON RICHARDSON
Movie: Mr. Mom (1983)
Actor: Martin Mull
Also a villain in: Take This Job and Shove It
Signature line: "Are you gonna make it all 220?"
Biggest crime: Trying to seduce Michael Keaton's wife.

DAVIS McDONALD
Movie: She's Having a Baby (1988)
Actor: Alec Baldwin
Also a villain in: Married to the Mob, Working Girl, Great Balls of Fire
Signature line: "You're the only one I ever loved."
Biggest crime: Trying to break up Kevin Bacon's marriage.

So who's your favorite villain? Leave a comment with your vote.

[Sources: IMDB.com, John Hughes Files]

Comments

[Walter Cox]

What? No Chet from "Weird Science"?

[Bassnote]

I vote for James Spader in PIP. He was the ultimate slime ball.

Thanks, Walter. I've added "Chet." How could I forget?

[Bgirl]

CHET, all the way! But I also love the asst. principal in "Uncle Buck," she should at least get an honorable mention--just for the simple fact that in that scene are some of the best lines ever: "Buck Melanoma, Moley Russel's wart." and: "Here's a quarter, why don't you go downtown and have a rat knaw that thing off your face."
And how about Tia from that movie? She does turn around, but she is UB's nemesis for 3/4 of the film...and a damn good one!

[Spears]

I tried to stick to the really BIG villains for this particular list. Surely every Hughes movies has a few antagonists. Jake Ryan's girlfriend in Sixteen Candles for example. Or the stuck-up girls in class in Pretty in Pink. Or even Robert Downey Jr. in Weird Science.

[Greg]

I don't know if any of the others can top Jeffrey Jones. The guy was a real-life child pornographer.

Give Jones the lifetime achievement award and then disqualify him from the competition.

[Johnny B. Goode]

Maybe I'm influenced because it was my favorite movie on the list, but I'm going with Rooney from FBDO, if for no other reason than sheer relentlessness. A principal who sneaks into a kid's house to try to catch him skipping school? Rooney was like a Terminator, single-minded in his attempts to destroy his enemy.

[Spears]

Here's my rationale for leaning toward Hardy Jenns in Some Kind of Wonderful:
-- His smug expression makes you want to punch him.
-- Not only does he cheat on his girlfriend (in front of her -- twice), but he basically turns all her friends against HER and not him. That's a master villain.
-- Then he incredibly manages to get them both to show up at his party.
-- And finally, he turns into the weasel that he truly is at the end to avoid getting thumped.

Classic. Truly classic.

[DC]

Top 2 for me were ROONEY and VERNON straightaway. STEFF was bad, but you kinda admired him for being such an unapologetic jerk.

[Josh G.]

I know I'm not the only one who thinks the real villain in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" was the title character.

[Richard Phelps]

Joe Pesci from Home Alone. I know, I know its 1990 - but one could argue that it was written in the late 80s and filmed in '89.

He's the most adorable villan out there. Just the best!

[Greg Williams]

Josh G:

I watched Ferris Bueller with my HS Sweetheart back in the day, and her mom was LIVID with me for showing that movie because "it taught bad things" to kids and set a bad example for impressionable youth. My rationale was that it was not a realistic movie, that there's no way in hell any kid could pull off this kind of stunt and not get caught, and that it was a comedy, not a template for truancy. Needless to say her mom wasn't buying it, and it was another notch in time bomb before we broke up.

BTW: Bill Paxton also had a bit part in Terminator as the punk who's clothes Arnold Schwarzenegger took in the beginning of the film. His line was "F*** you, ***hole"...a line which Arnold used later in the film.

My vote would be Ed Rooney in Ferris Bueller, and Richard Vernon in Breakfast club a close second.

[Spiky Sandy]

Vernon/Gleason in Breakfast Club was the funniest & the butt of all the jokes, but Steff/Spader in Pretty in Pink was the one you had to hate the most & the biggest butthead!

[Producer Dave, aka Maestro]

I don't know why Greg, but I loved your line "...a template for truancy." Nicely written.

[Hamptune]

I think Richard Vernon's sig line is "You play with bull you get the horns" with the hand gesture is classic.

As a side note: Martin Mull - most unfunny man EVER!!!

[Greg Williams]

Thanks PD. I try for literary genius in my message board disquisition.

[Chris]

Sorry to sound childish, but Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) from "Home Alone," which Hughes wrote.

[Cara]

Chet all the way!! I love Bill Paxton! He's been a villain a few times... my other favorite being Near Dark!!

[Chelsea]

I vote for Richard Vernon because there were some parts of The Breakfast Club that he was just scary because he was so evil. I would also like to point out that Martin Mull was the villan in How the West was Fun also.

[Chris2]

Richard Vernon. He was a great baddie.

[Adam]

CHET!

He had so many great lines. Classic 80s meat head. I would aslo add Ian and Max (Robert Downey Jr and Robert Rusler) were classic 80s bad guys in this movie too!

[Steph]

I'm gonna have to go w/Steff. He was a jerk, plus he shares the same pronunication of my name. He was probably just pissed he had a girl's name (and his girlfriend had a boy's name, Benny).

[Anton]

anyone who doesn't pick principal vernon is just slavishly avoiding looking populist.

you mess with the bull you get the horns, or something along those lines, is all i'm going to say.

[Randall]

Jeffrey Jones was also the villain in "The Pest" with John Leguizamo... Do not... I repeat, do not watch "The Pest" though. It is the Chernobyl of comedies...

[Léon]

Has to be 'Dick' Vernon, brilliantly played by the late Paul Gleason.

Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns. \m/

[Gersh]

How about a cumulative award for all of the people who are rude to Neal Page (Steve Martin) and Del Griffith (John Candy) in "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"? Top picks are the guy at the taxi depot who picks Neal up in a most uncomfortable way, the stewardess on the initial flight, the lawyer he pays 75 bucks to get his cab, and of course Kevin Bacon's cameo role. I can't in good conscience add Edie McClurg's car rental agent as she did nothing wrong, just was the recipient of Neal's anger.

[Stud Buffalo]

For sheer evil and cruelness, Hardy Jenns wins, hands down...but for best villain, nobody tops "Dick Vernon" from BC. Best line..."you know what wakes me up in the middle of the night? knowing that one day in my old age, THESE kids are gonna be taking care of me!"

[Yolanda]

The late, great Paul Gleason is my choice of great John Hughes villian. He played villians well (Even when he was a cop in "Die Hard!").

[Jessie]

It is really a toss up for me because I would say that Steff and Hardy Jenns tie as the most evil! Hardy probablly taking the prize for me, he was such a jerk! Great job Craig Scheffer! That is okay though because he made up for it as Joe Fisk in 'Fire with Fire' opposite Virginia Madsen.

[Jessie]

It is really a toss up for me because I would say that Steff and Hardy Jenns tie as the most evil! Hardy probablly taking the prize for me, he was such a jerk! Great job Craig Scheffer! That is okay though because he made up for it as Joe Fisk in 'Fire with Fire' opposite Virginia Madsen.

[pete]

definitely ed rooney!!!! he was the best villain

[pete]

definitely ed rooney!!!! he was the best villain

[Pepper]

It has to be Steff (James Spader) in Pretty in Pink. I don't think there's been a single point in Spader's career where his very presence didn't scream "slimeball."

[Alvin]

I think Vernon's signature line is, "Hugganugga!"

[Alvin]

I also like Carl and his degree in custodial arts.

[WwTIPPYwW]

Johnny from the Karate Kid - has that guy ever been a good guy? He was the jerk in One of the Guys, Back to School & European Vacation too. BTW - real name is William Zabka

[matt]

Best villain, without a doubt it was Chet. Rooney was better than Vernon, but, they were authority figures; villains only in the context of the movie. Chet was evil, until he was threatened to have a set of elephant balls put on him. Finally, Jeffrey Jones was a very good villain in "Stay Tuned".

[matt]

Zabka was the best villain of the 80s without any question. But, was not in any John Hughes movies.

[Nichole]

Definitely Chet..."How about a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?? Can you get any meaner than that??

[Heather in Ottawa]

Absolutely Hardy Jenns. Remember the scene at the gas station? "Here's ten for the gas... and ten for the look." He honked his horn when Keith was checking the oil in his car. He turned all of Amamda's friends against her. He tried to get his friends to beat Keith up (why dirty his own hands?), but then when Keith's punk friends showed up he tried to weasel out of it by saying it was a joke. He made Amanda beg like a dog. Seriously, this guy was the worst villan, and extremely well played.

[Karrisa Francis]

Ed Rooney! He was a principal that stalked his students. Creepy.

And you forgot he was a villain in 'Howard the Duck'. That's the best 80's movie there is!!!

[Robert A.]

I think Alec Baldwin's role as the terrifying sales manager in 'Glengarry Glen Ross' HAD to be cited as one of his other villainous roles...

'coffee is for closers!'

[Graves]

On that list, it's by far and away Richard Vernon.

[tay]

Spader was way worse in less than zero, c'mon now, he made robert downey jr go down on japanese businessmen to repay a drug debt. and they were high school friends. it don't get no more evil than that.

[Matt]

Unreal that guy from the Karate Kid didn't make the list. He was the worst!

[Dan]

Of the ones listed, I will say Spader, because he's just a jerk and uses/ruins people.
Paxton is like any other big brother, Mull actually falls in love with Terri Garr, and you know what? As much as thier attitudes were crappy, Gleason and Jones' characters were RIGHT in their motivations, they were just jerks about it. I love Gleason in Brekfast Club . . .

[biff]

how can it not be the villian from karate kid. the blonde haired kid who played the villian in every movie he was in...

[Giummo]

How about Buddy Revell from 3 O'Clock High!

[abbylyn]

Dear Stuck in the 80's
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole afternoon reading this article for which villian was the worst. But we think you're crazy to make us write a comment telling you who we think is the most evil.

We see them as you want to see them, in the simplist terms and in the most convienent definitions. But what we found out is that each one of them is an egotist, a control-freak, a sadist, a jerk, and a criminal. Does that answer your question?

Sincerely Yours,
Abbylyn

[Hayze]

How could be forget about Prof. Jerry Hathaway (William Atherton) in Real Genius. And while were at it lets throw Kent Torokvei (Robert Prescott) in there as well. Two huge pain in the "buttox's".

[abbylyn]

just to clarify, Real Genius and Karate Kid were NOT John Hughs' movies...so they don't qualify. This article is about JH's Villians.

[danny larusso]

How can you forget Johnny from the Karate Kid? He was also a villian in a couple other 80's movies.

[Stuckinthe80s]

Abbylyn, you rule! That's my favorite comment ... ever.

How about John Krese (sp?) from Karate Kid? Or the Johnny from the same movie? Now that is classic cinema.

[abbylyn]

Thanks! I'm a total JH movie geek! In fact...I have Brian's speech on my IPod.

[Sparticus]

Oh Boy, Chet was an asshole but still we loved him:D

[inky]

My vote is James Spader. How could you not love him? "Do you think I'd treat my parent's house like this if money were any kind of issue?" God, he is great. Also, no one could pull of the white linen suit in high school.

[Audra]

Steff for sure.

In fact, lots of James Spader's characters are kinda evil, come to think of it...

[KC]

To be fair, there were only about 14 or 15 John Hughes films in the 80s - in order to make this REALLY interesting, you should include early 90s or expand the criteria to all the Brat Pack movies or even the John Hughes-esque movies (like Say Anything, Can't Buy Me Love and such). If that were the case, the nasty dude from Karate Kid would have to get recognized, as well as Roy from Better Off Dead. Just my 2 cents...

[Karenann]

Abbylyn, I think you and I could be best friends!! Too funny.

Hello! Billy Zabka in Just One of the Guys. Genius. Genius. Genius.

[Tammy]

Spader is so bad, he's delicious. He's scary, sexy, sadistic, and the whole gamut of unsavory qualities. Even now, on Boston Legal, he's irrestible. And addictive.

[Kerri]

Oh, definitely Hardy Jenns. Slimy. Esp. the line where he says something about his consolation being that Keith gets her (Amanda) used. And you gotta love the fact that, not ONLY does Amanda slap him, he gets brought to his knees by Duncan. Love that movie!!! But, wow, Steph is oh so smarmy, too.

[Drew]

Rooney wins this because he kept the audience sitting in their seats watching him as the credits roll. And he doesn't even have much to do or say, he entertains just trudging with those shredded slacks onto the school bus. His humiliation is complete when he sits next to the nerdy girl and looks down to see that she has "Save Ferris" on her notebook and the seatback in front of him has "Rooney eats it" scrawled on it. He then looks at the camera with the tired expression of a man in the tenth ring of hell. He has been reduced to the status of a lowly student, the very thing he had tried and failed to condemn Ferris to.
However I think Chet and Hathaway from Real Genius are brilliantly malicious and deserve a shout out also.

[Drew]

Rooney wins this because he kept the audience sitting in their seats watching him as the credits roll. And he doesn't even have much to do or say, he entertains just trudging with those shredded slacks onto the school bus. His humiliation is complete when he sits next to the nerdy girl and looks down to see that she has "Save Ferris" on her notebook and the seatback in front of him has "Rooney eats it" scrawled on it. He then looks at the camera with the tired expression of a man in the tenth ring of hell. He has been reduced to the status of a lowly student, the very thing he had tried and failed to condemn Ferris to.
However I think Chet and Hathaway from Real Genius are brilliantly malicious and deserve a shout out also.

[tp]

What about Max (Edward Herrmann) from 1987's "The Lost Boys". He was the father of the vampire squad, led by Kiefer Sutherland.

I also agree with Hathaway from Real Genius (William Atherton), who also played Walter Peck in Ghostbusters, and later, Dr. Faulkner in Bio-Dome.

[mxteach]

Ed Rooney! Don't forget he was also evil in HOWARD THE DUCK! :-)

[ryan]

How about the asian racers in Better Off Dead?

[Angela]

Definately Hardy Jenns! He openly cheated on his girlfriend, then turned her friends against her when she tried to break up with him over it. But I gotta give James Spader the Honorable Mention. While his characters (that I've seen)where never as villinous as Craig Scheffer's Hardy Jenns, he was the villian in both Pretty in Pink and Mannequin, which are favorites of mine.

[Rico]

Has to be Ed Rooney. He was very creepy and it turns out he is a real life child molester.

[Greg Willams]

All of the John Hughes Written and/or Produced 80's movies:

Christmas Vacation (1989)
Uncle Buck (1989)
The Great Outdoors (1988)
She's Having a Baby (1988)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Weird Science (1985)
European Vacation (1985)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Nate and Hayes (1983)
Vacation (1983)
Mr. Mom (1983)
Class Reunion (1982)

abbylyn: I think I love you.

[Six]

From this list, I'm picking Steff from Pretty In Pink. Nobody beats James Spader when it comes to being a creepy bad guy.

You've missed a lot of people I would've picked. Here are a few of my picks for favorite villains from the 80s (in no particular order):

1. John Ryder from THE HITCHER (1986 ) - He tortured and terrified an innocent guy through the entire movie, murdered an entire family (including the kids), and finished off by tying the guy's love interest between two 18-wheelers, where he then proceeded to rip her in half. Not nice.

2. The Dukes (Randolph & Mortimer) from TRADING PLACES (1983) - They ruined a man's whole life for a mere $1.00 bet. How did they not make the list???

3. Paul Reiser as "Carter Burke" in ALIENS (1986) - Pretty much got nearly everybody killed (including himself) out of greed. I was glad when the monster ate him.

4. Bill Duke as "Leon" in AMERICAN GIGOLO (1980) - Got Julian framed for murder (after he did him favors) just because he was jealous of his success.

5. Wings Houser as "Ramrod" in VICE SQUAD (1982) - Was a murdering pimp who whupped MTV's Nina Blackwood to death with a coat hanger (!) after promising he wouldn't hurt her if she opened the door.

6. Esai Morales as "Paco Moreno" in BAD BOYS (1983) - Beat and raped Ally Sheedy to a pulp just because she was Sean Penn's character's girlfriend.

7. Christopher Walken as "Brad Whitewood Sr." in AT CLOSE RANGE (1986) - Killed his own son in cold blood while he cried and begged for his life. Tried to kill his other son. Succeeded in killing his other son's innocent girlfriend. Why? Business.

8. Jean Claude Van Damme as "Ivan" in NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER - Crippled a guy's father right in front of him, then proceeded to beat the crap outa the son. Only time he ever played the bad guy. His best performance, IMHO. Martial arts fans will know this one.

9. Dolph Lundren as "Ivan Drago" in ROCKY IV (1985) - He killed Apollo Creed! 'Nuff said.

10. Michael Douglas as "Gordon Gekko" in WALL STREET (1987) - I can't believe this wasn't on the list! Pure evil in a tailored suit.

I've got a bunch more, but this post is already too long.

[Six]

P.S. Picking villains from John Hughes movies is kind of pointless, IMHO.

[niczunster]

If you grew up on Rambo you will love this 80's flash back film, "The Son of Rambo." Presented by the Newport Beach Film Festival, April 26th at 8 pm. Check it out
http://www.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=93089 or
www.Newportbeachfilmfest.com

[blackheart]

when the devil is too busy
and deaths a bit too much.

they call on me by name you see for my special touch!

to the gentlemen im misfortune to the ladies im sir prize but call me by any name anyway its all the same.

im the fly in your soup im the pebble in your shoe im the pea beneath your bed im the bump on every head im the peel on which you slip im the pin in every hip im the thorn in your side makes you wiggle and thrive!

and its so easy when your evil this is the life you see the devil tips his hat to me I'll do it all because im evil and I'll do it all for free=your tears are all the pay I'll ever need!

while theres children to make sad while theres candy to be had while theres pockets left to pick while theres grannies left to trip down the stairs I'll be there I'll be waiting around the corner its a game Im glad Im in it cause theres one bone every minute.

and its so easy when your evil this is the life you see the devil tips his hat to me I'll do it all because Im evil and I'll do it all for free=your tears are all the pay I'll ever need!

I pledge my alligance to all things dark and I promise on my damnest soul to do as I am told lord filsabob has never seen a soldier quite like me not only does his job but does it happily!

im the fear that keeps you awake im the shadows on the wall im the monsters they become im the nightmare in your skull im the dagger in your back and extra turn on the rack im the whimpering of your heart a stabbing pain a sudden starve.

and its so easy when your evil this is the life you see the devil tips his hat to me I'll do it all because im evil and I'll do it all for free=your tears are all the pay I'll ever need!

it gets so lonely being evil what Id do to see a smile even for a little while and noone loves you when your evil.

im lying through my teeth!

your tears are all the comforting I'll need!

[Jess]

What about the blonde skier dude in Better off Dead that kept calling Lane Meyer "Oscar Mayer?" That guy was a number one idiot!!! How about Biff in Back To The Future???