Amazon.com essential video: Molly Ringwald established herself as the teen queen of the '80s in this fresh comedy. The movie is a day in the life of Samantha, whose 16th birthday is turning out to be anything but sweet. All the traumas of teendom come down on one long day, which sees Samantha surrounded by dithery relatives, mooning over a high school hunk, and pursued by a sawed-off Lothario. Sixteen Candles marked the directing debut of John Hughes, and its goofy energy displayed a promising talent with a great ear for high school lingo ... a promise neglected since Hughes became, after Home Alone, a one-man entertainment industry. There are some pretty crass moments (Why the stereotype of the foreign-exchange student from Asia?), but Ringwald's steady appeal smoothes over the rough spots. As the pubescent, self-styled lady-killer, Anthony Michael Hall turns in a hilarious portrait of a young swinger; he and Ringwald would reteam with Hughes for The Breakfast Club, another key teen picture of the decade. --Robert Horton
A near-perfect teen comedy "Sixteen Candles" is arguably the most well known film the the 1980s John Huges teen-film cannon. The film is the exact picture of high school as we try to imagine it as kids, and exactly what we remember when when we are reminescing as adults.
The film centers upon Molly Ringwald as we follow her around on her sixteenth birthday. Like all girls, Samantha has been building up her sweet-sixteen birthday for most of her teenage life. When she wakes up on the day she doesn't feel miraculously different, like she had hoped and is dismayed even further when her entire family forgets her birthday. The day continues from there as Sam is stuck into going to a lame dance with her cousin, giving her underwear to a geek, and going to an un-tamed party.
The movie is a comedy from the perspective of someone who has been there and been all of the major characters in the film. It is full of humor, but still carries a very big heart. It is one of those movies that you can watch 5 different times in you life, getting a different experience with every viewing. It is the definition of a classic 80s film, and is the first film screened in the "Teen Genre" courses in Film School.
This is a new special-edition DVD that finally includes special features such as a multi-part featurette, trailer and "additional extras"
Sixteen Candles: Nostalgic Comedy Sixteen Candles is kind of cheesy, but in a good way. What is a girl to do when she can't seem to catch the eye of her true love, has parents that forget her birthday and a sister that is completely self-absorbed? The plot line exaggerates the strifes of the teenage years in a way that is extremely funny. I enjoyed the film mostly for its nostalgia and humor. If you're a fan of the brat pack and 80's teenaged comedy, this is one film you won't want to miss. It's not one of my favorites, but it was certainly worth a viewing.
Sixteen Candles I bought this for a friend for her 40th birthday. I wanted to give her something to take her down memory lane.
Good 80's movie Great coming of age movie. "No more yanky my wanky. Donger need food"
A Second-Tier Teen Flick from the '80s Makes a First-Rate Nostalgia Film. Teen movies since the mid-1990s seem to be aimed at audiences other than teenagers. There are the improbable tragicomedies about dating that depict high school as pre-teens would imagine it, a grander, racier version of junior high school. And there are the films that pretend to realism by making teens out to be childish and innocuous, the way that middle-aged people like to imagine them. With some art house exceptions, the characters resemble aliens more than they do any young people who ever lived. This unfortunate state of cinema made me think more kindly of the second-tier teen flicks of the 1980s that didn't capture my interest the first time around. "Sixteen Candles" is one of those.
Written and directed by John Hughes in 1984, "Sixteen Candles" preceded his more sophisticated and thoughtful teen classics "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". But "Sixteen Candles" rings true to the culture of upper-middle class suburban teens in the 1980s. The simple, silly premise sets up a funny two days in the life of one frustrated young woman. Samantha Baker's (Molly Ringwald) family has forgotten her 16th birthday amid preparations for her sister's wedding. She has a crush on handsome senior Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling) but seems only to attract the attentions of a persistent nerd (Anthony Michael Hall). Sam's grandparents have moved into her bedroom, and she' s been saddled with their exchange student (Gedde Watanabe).
"Sixteen Candles" enjoys teenagers and sympathizes with them. In this case, angst stems from being ignored on one hand and harassed on the other. The characters are genuine and nice and flawed and self-aware, a welcome relief from the current trend to portray teens as either stupid or dangerous. Those who lived through the 1980s will recognize some teen staples, like "open parties". Those who didn't might be pleasantly surprised by an era when parents were respectful, not controlling, toward their children and people worried a lot less. "Sixteen Candles" is more of a "chick flick" than some of John Hughes other teen movies, as it has a female lead. But it's a fun blast from the past. The Universal 2003 DVD offers captioning in English and subtitles in Spanish and French.
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