John Hughes was responsible for several popular movies in the 1980's, many of which are now considered classic comedies. I have enjoyed most of his movies that I've seen. Sixteen Candles is one of his movies that I still enjoy when I watch it again.
Samantha Baker had been looking forward to her sixteenth birthday, so she was very upset when it arrived without any acknowledgment at all from her family. Her older sister Ginny was getting married the next day, and the rest of the family was caught up in all the last minute wedding preparations. Her day just got worse when she put on a questionnaire that she liked Jake Ryan, an older, very popular boy. Samantha’s friend never got the questionnaire and Jake actually ended up with it. That caused him to start thinking about Samantha even though he was going with Caroline, the most popular girl in school.
Samantha continued to obsess about Jake while dealing with her grandparents and Long Duck Dong, a foreign exchange student staying with the Baker grandparents, arriving for the wedding. Samantha ended up having to take Long Duck Dong with her to a dance she was going to. After just a few hours, he managed to find a girl, nicknamed Lumberjack, while Samantha was left feeling sorry for herself. She did end up sort of bonding with Farmer Ted, a kid most considered a geek.
Sixteen Candles had a fairly simple plot even though a few different things were going on. The movie mainly followed Samantha for two days - her less than happy birthday and the next day when her sister was getting married. She did have a lot of things to deal with in those two days which made the movie more interesting. I believe that she had liked Jake for a while even though that wasn’t really said for sure. She did start really obsessing about the whole situation once the questionnaire disappeared. A lot of attention was given Ginny’s wedding, so that was rather important to what was going on. Things connected to the grandparents, Long Duck Dong, Farmer Ted, and Jake and Caroline’s relationship were brought up without being huge parts of the plot. Things with Farmer Ted especially were more of a subplot. I did think the movie was entertaining even though it wasn’t complicated.
I thought that Sixteen Candles was a fun, lighthearted movie overall. The main plot really wasn’t that serious, though there were some serious moments that popped up a few times. The one that probably worked the best was between Samantha and her father. The few serious moments did work without making the movie overly sappy or sentimental. There was a good amount of humor throughout the movie. Several of the things that made me laugh were connected to Farmer Ted in some way. Samantha and her family, especially the grandparents, also added a lot of humor. Some of the things that were done to add humor were a bit silly, which may bother some people. One thing that some people may find silly is the addition of sound effects in certain moments.
There were many sexual discussions and remarks throughout Sixteen Candles. Samantha admitted on the questionnaire that she was a virgin, but she wanted to have sex with Jake. There was one moment that was kind of disturbing that involved her grandmother Helen noticing her developing body. There weren’t any actual sex scenes, but it was made clear that two characters had sex. There was some nudity in one scene that showed Caroline in the shower. The word that rhymes with luck was actually used once, which shocked me when I saw the movie again not to long ago. That was the first time I had seen the unedited version in a long time. Somehow, even with that word being used and the nudity, the movie was rated PG. I did read online that the movie was released shortly before the introduction of the PG-13 rating and that it had originally been rated R. The rating was changed to PG after an appeal was filed even though nothing was changed in the movie.
Samantha was the main character and most of Sixteen Candles was focused on her in some way. She was very upset by the fact that her parents had forgotten her sixteenth birthday and things only got worse for her as the day went on. Even her grandparents forgot it was her birthday because of everything going on for the wedding. Samantha did have a bit of an attitude at times and tended to look down on others, like the geeks and even her family. That did make it harder to like her. Molly Ringwald was fine in the part. Anthony Michael Hall was really good as Farmer Ted, a more minor character who ended up more important as the movie went on.
Jake was the most popular guy in school. He was attractive, so it wasn’t surprising that Samantha had a crush on him. I don’t think it was the most believable that he would suddenly decide he was interested in Samantha after finding out that she was interested in him. He did seem to go though a bit of a change by the end of the movie. Michael Schoeffling was fine in the part. Caroline and Jake had been dating for a while. She was very popular but did seem nice for the most part. Haviland Morris was fine in the part.
Ginny was very self absorbed and didn’t seem that nice in my opinion. Blanche Baker wasn’t anything special in the part. The rest of the family was around without being developed much at all. Jim and Brenda, the parents, were a bit distracted by all the wedding planning, but they were caring parents. I did really like Paul Dooley as Jim. The grandparents were shown even less. Long Duck Dong didn’t speak English very well but somehow managed to find a girl in just a few hours. Joan and John Cusack both had small parts as nerd type characters.
Main Cast
Edward Andrews - Howard Baker Blanche Baker - Ginny Baker Billie Bird - Dorothy Baker Carole Cook - Grandma Helen Carlin Glynn - Brenda Baker Anthony Michael Hall - Farmer Ted Haviland Morris - Caroline Molly Ringwald - Samantha Michael Schoeffling - Jake Ryan Max Showalter - Grandpa Fred Gedde Watanabe - Long Duck Dong
John Hughes - Director
Most of the times when I have seen Sixteen Candles has been when it has been on a cable station and cut up with commercials and edited a bit. The last few times I watched it were when I found it on HBO. I believe the movie is also available on DVD. I haven’t seen a DVD, so I don’t know what type of extras would be included.
Sixteen Candles wasn’t complicated, but it was entertaining. It is a mostly fun, lighthearted movie that is good for some mindless entertainment. Fans of other movies that John Hughes has made or fans of the cast may also enjoy this one.
I would have gone with three and a half stars if I had the option. Since I don’t, I rounded up to four.
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