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.

Of the John Hughes films I've seen, this is probably the worst. It tries to have some slightly deep messages like Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Planes Trains and Automobiles, but kind of falls short. It was entertaining much of the time, but some of the more off color stuff like the gags involving Long Duk Dong failed to be amusing. As they go, John Hughes is great when it comes to making off color jokes that don't completely turn off certain audience members, but I guess he was still working on it at this point.The story centers around a character that deserves sympathy, but complains a lot about it. Not that she doesn't deserve to complain, but it just makes her a little less likable as a character. Certainly it's an accurate portrayal of sixteen year old girls with Sam's polarized emotions and evident insecurity about her appearance. In some ways, this makes Jake Dyer a less realistic character. I think the point of his character was to show that it's okay for teenage guys to have a heart. However, this results in the story becoming something like the inverse of the cliché where the loser guy ends up with the dream girl (examples include but are not limited to Spiderman, Transformers, Alladin). It's an unfortunate thing, but I do not see any real-life 18 year old's making the same decision that Jake does. I suppose this accounts for the presence of the Geek/Farmer Ted, who I'm sure more of the male presence in the audience relate to.The plot has more layers to it than the usual comedy, but is not at all hard to follow. What is a little surprising is how passive Samantha is in context of the plot. After all, she doesn't go to Jake's party, which is a pretty big part of the story. I can't think of one thing she does to motivate the eventual concluding scene. I suppose her one quality that makes her deserve the rewards of her suffering is her honesty. She's not that shy about her feelings for Jake, but never acts on them exactly.Despite some of its other flaws, it is consistently amusing with jokes surrounding the Geek, Samantha's dysfunctional family, Joan and John Cusaks' characters, and the general awkwardness of being in high school. It has a similar feel to Breakfast Club because of the actors, but the comedy is much more situational here, whereas it's more verbal in Breakfast Club. There are some classic lines in Sixteen Candles too, but not that many.If you like John Hughes or the Brat Pack, this should satisfy, though it's not his or their best. Don't let the PG rating fool you into thinking it's a family-friendly movie, especially if Ferris Bueller does not fit that standard either. By modern ratings, it would be a fairly high PG-13. Also I'll warn you that it does not take place over one day. I was expecting this and it kind of worsened the experience. Finally, I will add that the portrayal of Long Duk Dong could easily come off as offensive to the Chinese exchange student stereotype. But if none of that deters you, give it a shot. Overall Rating: 7.6/10.

An unrequited crush, your obnoxious grandparents are staying over, your sister's getting married, and your parents forgot your birthday. Could anything get worse? Sixteen Candles, released in 1984 and directed by John Hughes answers this question and proves that no matter how bad it gets, a happy ending is always possible. Samantha Baker, our heroine is a high school sophomore who happens to be having the worst week of her life. Jake Ryan, a senior, has every girl in the school's heart, including Sam's. Through trial and error accompanied by a foreign exchange student's wackiness, being stalked by a geeky freshman with a huge crush on her, and attending a school dance nervous and alone, Sam's attempts to woo Jake make for one of the most influential movies of the 1980s. The cinematography of Sixteen Candles is flawless. Soundtrack from timeless media makes its way into the picture. Perfect camera angles capture the emotion of the scene perfectly. Through twists and turns, the plot weaves itself into a classic love story. The need for acceptance is a primary theme in Sixteen Candles. Sam is unassertive about her appearance and place in society, Caroline flaunts her beauty out of insecurity, and the Geek feels a need to stand out. Many teens will find Sixteen Candles uplifting and relatable. An absolutely perfect movie by one of the best directors of the decade. 10/10.