So why is Ringwald so eager to critique the films that made her famous?

She knows she’ll earn fawning press every time she does it, and that’s exactly what’s happened in mainstream media circles. Plus, it puts her back in the spotlight, no easy feat for a 50-something actress in a youth-obsessed industry.

It’s worth noting that while Ringwald has worked steadily since leaving the Hughes cocoon, none of her recent projects have had the cultural heft of her “racist, sexist” ’80s work.

Maybe that stings most of all.