IF YOU PAY ATTENTION TO the opening credits of Drillbit Taylor, you might notice something interesting. The film is the latest comedy produced by Judd Apatow and is cowritten by frequent contributor Seth Rogen (along with Kristofor Brown, one of the writers on Apatow’s cult television hit Undeclared). Alongside these two members of the Apatow repertory rests an odd name: Edmond Dantes.
That’s not the Count of Monte Cristo; it’s the pseudonym employed by John Hughes, the undisputed king of 1980s comedy. His directorial CV is like a greatest hits of teen comedies from the decade: in the three year stretch from 1984-86, he brought Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to the big screen. In the three years following, he added Uncle Buck and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. As a writer, his résumé is even more impressive: in addition to the aforementioned titles add Pretty in Pink, National Lampoon’s Vacation (as well as European Vacation and Christmas Vacation), and The Great Outdoors.
