Sixteen Candles (1984)

Really Surprised!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Smitten teenager Samantha Baker (a delightful performance by the spunky and adorable Molly Ringwald) has a crush on popular hunk Jake (the handsome and charming Michael Schoeffling), who's already spoken for. Worse yet, her family get so caught up with her older sister's impending wedding that they totally forget her 16th birthday. Writer/director John Hughes keeps the enjoyable story zipping along at a snappy pace, maintains a likeable lighthearted tone throughout, presents believable teen characters, astutely nails the joy and anguish of adolescence, and manages a few tender, touching, and thoughtful moments amid all the often raucous and uproarious humor. Moreover, it's acted with aplomb by a tip-top cast: Anthony Michael Hall brings a utterly disarming cocky swagger to his breakthrough role as a brash and persistent geek, Paul Dooley shines with his a lovely portrayal of Samantha's harried, but humane dad, and Gedde Watanabe has a field day as happy-go-lucky foreign exchange student Long Duk Dong, plus there are fine contributions from Haviland Morris as foxy babe Caroline, Blanche Baker as the ditsy Ginny, Justin Henry as sharp-tongued younger brother Mike, Max Showalter as the hearty Fred, and Billie Bird and Edward Andrews as a pair of doddery grandparents. John Cusack, Joan Cusack, and Jami Gertz pop up in small roles. A total hoot that not only delivers the expected laughs, but also proves to be really sweet and occasionally moving as well.

A story about an unhappy girl who is unhappy because her parents forget her 16th birthday (she's probably always unhappy). Everyone in this movie is on their period. Its a real defamation to nerds. Anyways we follow around this unhappy bundle of non-nonsensical nerves as she lies and tries to tell everyone shes alright. She decides that if she had some ordinary mediocre yuppie guy everything would be picket fences (or so the box art and theatrical posters suggest, but i know better, i don't believe that rubbish.). In the end she gets the mediocre ordinary yuppie guy and that doesn't even mean much (why would it??). Its a character study of an unhappy girl who lies and says she is alright and wants the hunky men even though she really doesn't.

John Hughes was the genius behind such great 80's comedies like 'Pretty in Pink', 'Ferris Bueller' and of course 'The Breakfast Club', and this was his first attempt at the genre.All the elements that would make his latter films so beloved are here, as of course is the ever delightful Molly Ringwald. There are some lovely moments of comedy, and some real heart behind it.I didn't feel that this film was as complete as some of the later Hughes outings. It was almost as if he was trying lots of things out to see what worked. This therefore made for a bit of a mishmash of a film.You can't argue that the final scenes are lovely though. They are romantic, they're funny - John Hughes just excelled at writing these films. It's perfectly, enjoyable, and while it didn't grab me like some of the formerly mentioned films, it is still an example of a genius at work.

Released in 1984, "Sixteen Candles" stars Molly Ringwald as teen who must enduring her family forgetting her 16th birthday due to the activity surrounding the wedding of her beautiful older sister (Blanche Baker). Anthony Michael Hall plays a geek wanting to have sex with Ringwald's character, but settles for false evidence and the corresponding respect of his friends. Michael Schoeffling (who looks like a young Matt Dillon) plays the girl's romantic interest while Haviland Morris plays his hot girlfriend. John & Joan Cusack have small roles.Unlike the okay-but-unremarkable "Pretty in Pink" (1986), "Sixteen Candles" is a fun and quirky teen dramedy. While not great like 1982's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" or 1995's "Clueless," it's a solid high school coming-of-age drama/comedy from beginning to end. The movie was written & directed by John Hughes, also known for the more popular "The Breakfast Club" (1985) and "Ferris Bueler's Day Off" (1986). I can tell Hughes wasn't a rocker because all his teen dramedies contain soundtracks consisting of bland new wave music as opposed to the awesome rock/metal soundtracks of "Fast Times" and 1993's "Dazed and Confused." The movie runs 93 minutes and was shot in suburbs north of Chicago.GRADE: B