50 free Pretty in Pink trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Pretty in Pink is the John Hughes film that almost had a different ending. Written by Hughes, directed by first-timer Howard Deutch and built around Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh, the 1986 film pits a working-class senior against the 'richies' at her school, with Jon Cryer's Duckie pining from the sidelines and Andrew McCarthy's Blane caught between them. This quiz covers the story and characters, the cast and the actors who nearly got the parts, the record store and the prom dress, and the behind-the-scenes history: the Psychedelic Furs song that inspired the script, the ending test audiences rejected, the wig Andrew McCarthy had to wear for the reshoot, and the OMD song written in under 24 hours to score it. There are questions on the soundtrack, the box office, the reviews and the film's afterlife too. Difficulty runs from easy to hard, so it works for a movie night, a pub quiz round or an 80s-themed party. Every answer was checked against the Wikipedia articles on the film, its songs and its cast, and each question shows its source.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who plays Andie Walsh, the film's working-class heroine?
Molly Ringwald
It was her third film with John Hughes after Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, and she made the cover of Time that May.
Q 02Who wrote the screenplay for Pretty in Pink?
John Hughes
He also served as co-executive producer but handed the directing to a first-timer.
Q 03Who directed the film?
Howard Deutch
He went on to direct Some Kind of Wonderful for Hughes the following year, where he met his future wife Lea Thompson.
Q 04Who plays Andie's best friend, Philip 'Duckie' Dale?
Jon Cryer
Ringwald had lobbied for Robert Downey Jr., and Anthony Michael Hall turned the part down to avoid typecasting.
Q 05Who plays Blane McDonnagh, the 'richie' who asks Andie out?
Andrew McCarthy
Charlie Sheen was considered, but Ringwald persuaded the filmmakers to cast McCarthy instead.
Q 06Who plays Steff McKee, Blane's wealthy and spiteful best friend?
James Spader
Steff's hostility turns out to stem from Andie having rejected his advances.
Q 07Who plays Iona, Andie's quirky thirty-something boss at the record store?
Annie Potts
Roger Ebert singled out her performance along with Ringwald's in his three-star review.
Q 08Which veteran actor plays Andie's underemployed father, Jack?
Harry Dean Stanton
He had just starred in Paris, Texas and Repo Man; here he buys his daughter the pink dress she cannot bring herself to love.
Q 09What is the name of the record store where Andie works?
Trax
It is where she waits for Blane on their first date, and where Duckie makes his doomed pitch.
Q 10In which Chicago suburb does Andie live with her father?
Elgin
She refuses to let Blane drive her home at first because she does not want him to see the house.
Q 11Which band's song gave the film its title?
The Psychedelic Furs
Ringwald introduced Hughes to the 1981 song, and the band re-recorded a less raw version for the opening sequence.
Q 12Which OMD song, written for the film, reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1986?
If You Leave
'Goddess of Love' was the song they had written for the original ending; Hughes rejected it after the reshoot.
Q 13In roughly how long did OMD write and record 'If You Leave' after Hughes asked for a new prom song?
Under 24 hours
The request came two days before the band went on tour, and Hughes specified a tempo of 120 BPM.
Q 21What is the name of Steff's girlfriend, the leader of the 'richie' girls who torment Andie?
Benny Hanson
Kate Vernon plays her; Gina Gershon appears as Trombley.
Q 22Who did Ringwald say the character of Duckie was based on?
A gay pal of hers
She said they 'had an extremely nonromantic relationship', which is partly why she doubted the original ending.
Q 23Which studio released Pretty in Pink?
Paramount Pictures
Studio executives had worried the original ending would look classist.
Q 14Hughes asked OMD to write the new song at 120 BPM to match which track the actors had danced to on set?
Don't You (Forget About Me)
Singer Andy McCluskey later noted an editing error still left the dancing out of sync.
Q 15What did test audiences boo when they saw the film's original final scene?
Andie pairing off with Duckie
Test audiences booed it, so a new ending was shot in one day, months after wrap; Paramount says the original footage is lost.
Q 16Why did the actor playing Blane have to wear a wig for the reshot ending?
He had cut his hair for a stage play
He had also lost weight for the play, having been called back several months after production ended.
Q 17Andie makes her own prom dress by combining her father's gift with whose old dress?
Iona's
The finished pink creation has divided fans of the film for decades.
Q 18Which Otis Redding song does Duckie lip-synch to in the record store?
Try a Little Tenderness
The track appears in the film but was left off the soundtrack album.
Q 19Which future Two and a Half Men and Buffy star plays 'Duckette', who beckons Duckie?
Kristy Swanson
Hughes wrote the moment 'to protect Duckie's character' after the ending changed.
Q 20Which comedian plays the nightclub bouncer?
Andrew Dice Clay
Frank Zappa's son Dweezil also appears, as Simon.
Q 24Approximately how much did the film gross in its US theatrical run?
$40.5 million
It was the 22nd-highest-grossing film of 1986, on a $9 million budget.
Q 25What was the film's budget?
$9 million
It opened to $6.1 million and topped the box office in the week of March 12, 1986.
Q 26Who produced Pretty in Pink?
Lauren Shuler Donner
She later produced the X-Men films.
Q 27Which 1987 Hughes-Deutch film reworked the Pretty in Pink triangle with the genders swapped?
Some Kind of Wonderful
Ringwald turned down a role in it, feeling it was too close to her earlier Hughes films.
Q 28Which Smiths song appears on the soundtrack?
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
The Autumns covered it for a 2000 'soundtrack revisited' album.
Q 29Which Echo & the Bunnymen song was recorded specifically for the film?
Bring On the Dancing Horses
Its inclusion is noted in the liner notes of the band's compilation Songs to Learn & Sing.
Q 30Which band appears on screen performing 'Positively Lost Me' but has no songs on the soundtrack album?
The Rave-Ups
They also play 'Shut-Up' from their Town and Country album in the club scenes.